Achieving Clarity
by PerfesserN
Summary: Luna sees an opportunity to help Harry in his fight against Voldemort and takes the initiative. A Harry/Hermione/Luna story from Luna's POV
1. Chapter 1: Setting the Fulcrum

Achieving Clarity

Setting the Fulcrum

Luna Lovegood stopped and listened.

_That's odd,_ she thought, Myrtle usually haunts the second floor. _Why would she be crying in the first floor loo?_

Deciding her Charms Class project could wait for another quarter-hour she followed the sounds of grief and frustration and found Hermione Granger, bowed over a pedestal style sink, gripping the porcelain edges as she fought back tears.

"Hello Hermione. Is this going to be your bathroom now?" she asked.

The question caught the Gryffindor completely by surprise, as was intended, and she looked at Luna with an expression that said, "What?"

Luna continued in her seemingly vapid manner, "Well, Myrtle has the second floor girls' loo, if you're going to have this one perhaps I should opt for the third floor."

"Luna, what _are_ you talking about?"

Luna crossed her arms, then raised her right hand to stroke the left side of her chin and began her explanation.

"You're upset. It's not anything to do with schoolwork, because academics never bother you. You're not distressed over what any of the girls are saying about you – they're so jealous – because you would be angry, not heartbroken."

Luna's large eyes narrowed, "That means it's a boy. A boy you're close to, so that eliminates everyone in the castle except for Harry and Ronald. Harry would sooner cut off his right arm than hurt you, so Ronald has said or done something to upset you."

Hermione dabbed the corners of her eyes with the sleeve of her jumper, "That's amazing, Luna."

"Not really, you could have sussed it out if it had happened to me. But I haven't had any real friends, until recently, so no one has been able to disappoint me that badly, yet. I'm sure it will happen, especially if I get closer to Ronald Weasley."

Hermione snorted, "I would say that you're welcome to him, but that wouldn't be fair to you."

"Want to talk about it?" Luna encouraged.

Hermione sighed, she'd seen therapists while growing up to help her cope with the pressures of growing up exceptional, and so she knew the value of venting her feelings.

"We were in Transfiguration just now, and Ron accidentally gave himself a thick, handlebar mustache. It was funny looking, and everyone around him laughed."

Hermione frowned, "But when he saw me laughing he became very spiteful, he started to mock me, jumping up and down, raising his hand saying "I know, I know, oh, pick me, pick me!", it wasn't that he was trying to be funny, he was _intending_ to be _hurtful_."

Luna nodded, "Yes, Ronald can say funny things sometimes, but I don't think he really thinks about hurting people's feelings."

"He's done it to you too, hasn't he?" Hermione asked.

"Several times." Luna said, with a sigh.

"It's a wonder he has any friends at all." Hermione observed.

There came a soft knock at the door, "Hermione, are you in there? It's Harry. I've got your books and notes and stuff from class."

Luna smiled, "Why don't you wash your face and fix your hair, here, let me help."

Saying that Luna drew her wand from behind her ear and tapped the top of Hermione's head, this didn't make the bushy brown hair any less bushy, but it did convince it to lie in neat rows all around.

"Thank's Luna, you'll have to teach me that."

"Of course."

Harry was startled to see Luna exit the bathroom just ahead of Hermione, "Oh, I thought you were by yourself. I'm glad I didn't follow my first instinct and just go on in."

"Oh, is it okay for boys to go into the girls' bathrooms now?" Luna asked.

"Um, no, I just thought that Hermione was upset and I wanted to make sure she was alright."

Hermione gratefully accepted her books and supplies, thanked Harry profusely, then hurried off to her next class.

Harry watched until she disappeared around the corner.

Luna observed Harry with her large, discerning eyes.

_It's nearly time_, she thought, _the juncture is almost right._

Harry, still staring at that point in space where Hermione had been, said in a near growl, "Ron!"

Luna was startled by the vehemence in Harry's voice.

"Ronald sometimes says funny things, but as often as not, they're hurtful."

Harry nodded and seemed to regard Luna.

"I miss the DA. It was like having friends. Ginny was my only real friend growing up, she still looks out for me – she stopped two upperclassmen from calling me 'Loony' just last week."

He smiled and seemed to ponder before asking, "Luna, would you come to Slughorn's Christmas Party with me? Just as friends, nothing special, nothing implied, just two friends enjoying each other's company."

Luna's heart soared, but somehow she managed to keep her response low key, although her infectious joy was hard to mask. "I-I've never been invited to a party by a boy. I'd love to go with you, as a friend, Harry."

Peeves the Poltergeist cackled insanely from the chandelier above, "Potty lurves Loony, Loony lurves Potty."

Harry shrugged, "Well, I guess everyone will know by this evening that I, um, _we_ have a date to the party."

"Yes, Peeves can be useful that way." Luna said with a smile.

Luna hurried to the post owls, composing the letter in her mind before she sent it off.

_Dearest Daddy,_

_It's nearly time to act, the parameters are falling into position and, if my calculations are correct, and I know you've checked them five times by now, the fulcrum will be in place on the 19__th__ of December._

_Would you please sent Mummy's silver-spangled gown, the one with the matching cape? It will make a nice impression on Harry, and it could bring me luck, it's the gown that Mummy was wearing when she asked you to marry her._

_All my love, for now,_

_Luna, your moon maiden – so far._

The evening of the party arrived. Luna had been pleasantly surprised when Su Li and Padma Patil offered to help her with hair and makeup – she'd never tried coloring her cheeks or lips before, and decided she liked the effect. Padma transformed her overly large eyes by the judicious application of eyeliner and shadow. Su arranged her hair in a nice up-sweep then adorned it with baby's breath and magical sparkles.

As she passed through the Ravenclaw Common Room there were titters from some of the girls, Cho and Marietta in particular, but it rang hollow. Every girl there and every boy who was paying attention realized that they were looking at the belle of the ball.

Luna stood just inside the Ravenclaw entrance and saw Harry standing in the hallway. Padma exited holding a boxed corsage. Luna could hear them as she thrust the corsage into his hand and whispered, "If you pull the same stunt with Luna that you did with Parvati and me two years ago there won't be enough left of you to fill a shoebox."

Harry looked at the silver and white orchid and said, "Thanks, Padma. Tonight is all about Luna." He held out his hand, "May I offer my heartfelt apology for my behavior then? I wish I could go back in time and undo all the crap I put you and your sister through – I'd like to think I've grown up a little since then."

Padma softened a bit took his hand and said, "Be nice to her Harry, she's one of a kind."

"I know."

Harry might have been about to say something else, but whatever it was it died on his lips.

Luna Lovegood stood framed in the doorway, her eyes cast demurely downward.

Every hair was in place, the fact that she wore her hair up accented her long, thin neck and bare shoulders. Gone were the butterbeer cork necklace and radish earrings. She wore simple silver hoops in her ears and a matching chain from which hung a traditional wiccan 'phases of the moon' pendant.

The silver spangled gown fit her like a glove and enhanced her curves nicely. The low bodice enhanced as it barely concealed her small breasts. The low waistline flared just enough to follow the slope of her hips.

The trailing skirt was split up the front to just about mid-thigh so that, as Luna walked, a tantalizing flash of nicely formed leg showed.

Her tiny feet were encased in silk shoes, died silver to match the dress.

Padma prodded Harry, who stepped forward and just managed to say, "You look beautiful, Luna."

"Thank you, Harry. Are we ready then?"

"Almost." He said, holding up the flower box, "May I?"

"Of course."

He seemed to hover with the corsage, not sure what he could touch to pin it on.

Luna grinned and said, "In the very center, between my breasts would be best, don't you think? That way when I put on the mantle it won't crush the flower."

Harry blushed, but soldiered on; managing to affix the orchid in such a way that he got a nice view of the curve of both her breasts, then helped her with the matching cape.

Luna took a small spray of baby's breath from her hair and placed it in the buttonhole of Harry's lapel.

"Milady?" he said, offering his arm.

"Milord." She replied, taking it.

Quite a few students found excuses to be in the hallways that evening, and when Harry in his tuxedo-like dress robes escorted the transformed Luna in her Silver Goddess ensemble the rumor mill began to buzz about the new 'top couple' in school.

Luna didn't miss a single murmur as she allowed herself to be led in the direction of the dungeons and Slughorn's quarters.

Harry kept the conversation light and engaging, "I understand there will be a vampire there tonight."

"Oh, Rufus Scrimgeour will be there?"

_Really_, Luna thought, _if Harry can't see through my façade by now then this whole thing may as well end before it begins._

The way Harry smiled let her know that he knew.

When they arrived at the party a hush fell over those already there, Luna was sure it was because Harry had never been to any of the Slug Club functions before.

Luna had a wonderful time, discombobulating guests left and right. Harry kept her supplied with drinks and finger-foods and company, making sure to include her in all of his conversations.

Ginny Weasley was there, her redheaded friend raised an eyebrow and tilted her head to Harry to which Luna smiled and shrugged as if to say, "Who knows?"

She saw a slightly disheveled Hermione manage, yet again, to avoid the clutches of Cormack McClaggen.

Luna frowned.

The whole equation teetered on the probability that Harry would pick up some valuable bit of information at tonight's party. The party was nice, but something had to happen, and soon.

And it did.

Filch hauled Draco Malfoy in by his ear.

Professor Snape hustled Draco out the door and Harry excused himself,

"Um, I've got to, um. . ."

"Use the loo?" Luna offered.

"Yeah, that's it, be back in a bit."

Luna looked around the crowded room and sighed, it had been nice, at first, but she would prefer any future parties to be small, intimate affairs.

"Hermione!" Cormack called from across the room, and Luna turned to see McClaggen's intended victim pale.

Luna took Hermione by the arm and said, "Come with me to the ladies room?"

Hermione nodded gratefully, "Of course."

Once out of the Slughorn's quarters, Hermione said, "Thank you, Luna. I was getting desperate."

"You must have been, Hermione, to invite Cormack in the first place."

"Not one of my better ideas of late." She admitted, sheepishly.

Luna placed two fingers on Hermione's lips pulled her into an alcove and whispered, "Don't move!"

Hermione looked confused and a bit taken aback by Luna's sudden move.

"What?"

"Shhhh!"

Then both girls heard Draco muttering to himself as he stormed down the corridor, heading for the Slytherin dorms, "I'll show them, I'll show them all! Interfering old bastard!"

Hermione began to ease out of the alcove when Luna pulled her back again, so she narrowly missed bumping into Snape as he pursued Draco.

Three minutes passed and Luna said, "Now we need to find Harry."

"You go ahead, Luna, I think I've had enough excitement for one night."

"No, Hermione, you don't understand _we_ need to see Harry, and right now."

"Luna, do you know where he is?"

She pulled a sprig of baby's breath from her hair and said, "I can find him."

Luna appeared to be in a trance as she walked down the empty corridor with the tiny blossoms in her hand; she turned left at the first intersection, left again at the second then stopped at the third door, which was slightly ajar.

They entered the empty classroom, where Luna walked unerringly to one corner and said, "Hello Harry, did you find what you needed?"

Luna smirked; she didn't know who was more shocked, Hermione, at her finding Harry or Harry at being found.

He pulled the cloak off and asked, "Can you see through invisibility cloaks too, Luna?"

"Let's pretend I can find you anytime I want to, no matter where you hide."

Hermione laughed, "Luna, you charmed Harry's buttoner, didn't you?"

"Not exactly, I charmed the blossoms so that they'd be attracted to each other if I split them apart. I just had to follow the pull of the baby's breath blossom. You see, I knew that, at some point tonight, Harry would leave me alone at the party."

Harry looked horrified, "I've done it again, haven't I? I've gone and abandoned my date in the middle of a party. Padma's going to kill me!"

Luna shrugged, then looked around the room and nodded, "This will do nicely."

"Harry, would you light the torches please? Hermione, give me a hand with these chairs and the desk, please."

"A nice large oriental rug, I think."

"Dark wood paneling."

Harry and Hermione found themselves following Luna's suggestions and, in a trice, the room had been transformed into something that Hermione was very familiar with.

"It's a psychiatrist's office." She said, amazed that Luna would be familiar with muggle medicine.

"When my Mum died, Daddy and I both went for counseling. It helped, a bit."

Two very comfortable chairs faced the ubiquitous couch upon which Luna reclined in her silver-spangled gown.

"Please, Harry, Hermione, have a seat and we can begin."

More amused than intrigued, the two Gryffindors sat down.

Without preamble, Luna began, "The single most important thing for us to achieve here is clarity."

"Clarity?" Hermione asked.

Luna nodded, "We all have our individual 'Weltanschauung', our way of looking at the world. The problem is that our view is limited by our own conceptions, perceptions, exceptions and a whole lot of other 'ceptions'.

"What we need is the point of view of a third party, someone close enough to the problem to see it, without becoming insensitive to it."

Luna smirked as she regarded the two gob-smacked teens, "That's where I come in."

Harry smiled and asked, "So what have you seen, oh observant one, that we've missed?"

"Professor Dumbledore is dying."

Both Harry and Hermione sat forward in open-mouthed shock as Luna continued, "He's been struck by a powerful, incurable curse, that only the best efforts of Professor Snape and Madame Pomfrey can keep at bay, but they are losing him. Our headmaster weakens by the day.

Harry was the first to ask, "How?"

"His blackened and withered hand, the fact that he doesn't eat anymore, but sits at the head table drinking something he obviously doesn't enjoy – potions I would imagine. The headmaster's voice is not as strong as it used to be, and he tires easily."

Hermione asked, "How long?"

Luna shrugged, "I don't think he'll last out the end of next term."

"Luna," Harry asked, "are you a seer?"

"Not exactly, not in the way you mean it. I see things as they are, and I extrapolate from my observations. The better I understand the past and the present the better I can 'see' what's coming."

Hermione turned to Harry, "She does show amazing insight, Harry."

"My father taught me to observe all possibilities, to categorize them and to plot possible outcomes in my head."

Harry asked, "Do you do this everyday?"

Hermione looked narrowly at the recumbent Ravenclaw, "More like every minute, I would say."

Luna simply nodded, and said, "It can be a bit _distracting_ at times."

"And the nargles and snorkacks and other assorted rare creatures?" Harry asked.

Luna smiled, "The probability exists, however small."

Hermione sat up, obviously excited, "This could open a whole new field of Aritmancy, the blending of probability and statistics with magical formulae. . ."

"Down girl!" Harry chided, "I think Luna is way ahead of you on this one."

"And that brings us to the difficult part of our session today." Luna said as she sat up on the couch.

She pulled the wand from behind her ear and said, "I, Luna Lovegood, do solemnly swear, that what I say and do in this company is borne of truth and love unto my death, so mote it be."

"Luna!" Hermione cried, aghast that Luna would make such a powerful and potentially deadly oath. "You didn't have to do that, we both believe you."

Luna reached out to both Harry and Hermione and they, in turn, each took one of her hands, "Can we promise that, no matter how difficult these sessions become, that, at the end of the day, we will still be friends."

A single tear coursing down Luna's cheek emphasized how difficult this was for her.

"I so swear." Harry said.

"I so swear." Hermione agreed.

They all settled back into their respective seats.

"Hermione," Luna asked, "Why are you angry and disappointed with Harry."

She started to protest, "I'm not!' but then saw Luna's raised eyebrows.

"I guess it started with that damned book."

"Yes," Luna agreed, "I've heard that Harry has become Slughorn's golden boy in Potions class."

"Harry is not following the time-honored principles of potion making."

"That's not true, Hermione, the most honored principles of potion making are experimentation, innovation, improvisation."

"But that's not the way we do things in Potions class."

"If you don't change the way things are done, nothing ever changes."

"But these improvisations are not Harry's; they belong to someone called the _Half-blood Prince."_

"This Prince - did you know that Professor Snape's mother was named Prince? Anyway, about this Prince, has he or she published any of these breakthroughs?"

"Not that I can find."

"Then we have a brilliant theoretical potions developer hiding his or her light under a bushel. Why not let Harry succeed were this other person failed."

"What else, Hermione?" Luna prompted.

"_Felix Felicis."_

Harry spoke up, "I tricked Ron into thinking he'd had a dose of _Felix Felicis_, and I used Hermione to help convince him." He turned to Hermione, "If you hadn't been convinced, then he wouldn't have been convinced."

He looked down and said, "But thinking back on it, I was being selfish and inconsiderate and I would have hated it if someone had done the same thing to me. I'm sorry, Hermione."

Hermione studied her shoes, "It's just that it's not following the rules – I know it's one of my personality flaws, I can't help it. I _have_ looked at some of those potions's notes, Harry, and they just make me feel uncomfortable."

"How many people would be dead today if Harry followed the rules?" Luna asked.

That statement shocked Hermione to her core, and it showed in her face, "Harry ignored the teachers in our first year and went to find me. Because of this he tackled a full grown mountain troll – if he hadn't, I would have been killed. Then two years ago, Harry produced a_ patronus_ powerful enough to repel over a hundred dementors, if he hadn't I would be a soulless husk today."

Luna decided it was time to move on, "Harry, why are you dogging Draco's heels this year?"

"He's up to something, I just know it."

"And your proof is?"

"I-I don't have any, not really. But he is acting suspicious."

"He is, and he's also afraid, deathly afraid of something. I don't think you've threatened to kill him, so I have to assume someone in Voldemort's camp has."

She placed a soothing hand on Harry's arm, "Draco is clever and frightened. This is a bad combination. He's been given some task, if he fails he dies, and probably his family as well – that's a pureblood's worst fear, that his entire family will be wiped out. He probably has been tasked with killing someone."

Hermione gasped, "Harry!"

Luna shook her head, "No, Voldemort wants Harry for himself, it must be a high profile target, the only ones even close to Harry on the Death Eater's 'to do' list is the Headmaster, and, well, you."

It was Harry's turn to gasp, "Hermione!"

Luna smiled, "Killing a student, other than Harry, wouldn't cause even a low-ranking death eater to loose sleep. No it has to be Professor Dumbledore."

"Wait," Harry asked, "Did you just say Malfoy's a Death Eater?"

Luna nodded, sadly, "I'm afraid so."

"My God," Hermione gasped, "does that mean he's already killed someone – don't you have to do that to earn the mark?"

Luna nodded, "It's possible, even likely that Draco hasn't killed yet, but his task is to kill, if he fulfills his task he'll be a fully vetted Death Eater."

"Hermione, you are jealously possessive of Ronald. Why?"

"Who cares what that boy is up to anymore?"

"Apparently you do, why?"

"I – I don't know, really."

"Please remember, Hermione, we're friends, okay?"

She nodded.

"Ronald is the consolation prize. You feel you can't have who you _really_ want and so you go for the sidekick."

Hermione's blush grew to face devouring proportions.

"What you don't realize is that Harry doesn't need a 'sidekick', he needs his partner."

Tears leaked from the corners of Hermione's eyes, "Harry doesn't think of me _that_ way."

"Wait, what? What way?" Harry sputtered.

Luna continued, "Have you ever thought to tell him?"

"I can't, if I do and he doesn't feel that way, I couldn't . . ."

"You would die for Harry."

Hermione nodded, "In a second."

"Then why not _live_ for him, be what you already are, his conscience, his guide, his partner."

"I would, if he'd have me." She said in a small voice.

"But you, and Ron, and all that arguing, like an old married couple, I thought, and Ron said you and he were. . ."

Luna asked, "Harry, where is Ronald, right now?"

Harry grimaced, "Probably in the common room, kissing Lavender."

"So what possible claim can he have on Hermione?"

Harry looked at Hermione, who looked back, with hope shining in her eyes and said, "None that I can see."

Luna sat up and said, "Well I can see we've made _excellent_ progress so far, in our next session let's see if we can't resolve some of our Unresolved Sexual Tension, we are, after all, hormonal teenagers, and masturbation, healthy as it is harmless, can be awfully _lonely._

Harry and Hermione both laughed.

"Hermione, I need to escort my date back to her dormitory, can you make it back to Gryffindor Tower all right by yourself?"

Hermione started to say "Yes" when Luna said, "Let's all go, I don't like the idea of Hermione walking these corridors alone at night."

So the trio walked back toward the Ravenclaw tower.

Hermione and Luna shared a look behind Harry's back and each girl took one of his hands in her own.

At the tower entrance Harry said, "Luna, when I asked you to come with me to the party I said 'nothing special, just friends', well, I want you to know that I think you're very special."

Luna blushed to her roots.

Hermione smiled and said, "I'd say your date has earned a goodnight kiss."

Harry bent down and touched his lips to Luna's.

"Thank you, Harry."

"My pleasure, Luna."

"_Honestly_, you call that a kiss? Here, watch this, Luna, and learn."

Hermione pulled Harry by the lapels and plastered her body against him. She fused her lips to his and moaned, cocking one leg in the process.

When she released him she said, "Now _that_, was a proper kiss."

She turned a happily dazed and confused Harry around to face Luna who sprang into his arms and latched onto his mouth with her own. The split skirt allowed her to wrap her legs around Harry's middle and forced him to grab her bum to keep her from slipping.

Just then the Ravenclaw door opened and Padma stepped out. "Now if our date had ended like this think of all the fun we could have been having since then."

Harry and Luna reluctantly broke the kiss, as breathing became an issue, and they managed to make disentangling look like a well-rehearsed dance move.

They embraced once more and Harry placed a chaste kiss on top of her sandy-blonde head.

Padma looked quizzically at Hermione, particularly her kiss-swollen lips and asked, "You as well?"

Hermione smiled broadly and nodded.

"Goddess Meenakshi, that is so _hot_. Where do I sign up?"

Harry smiled and said, "I think I have enough riches for one man, I don't want to be greedy. Please look after our little moon-child while she's in Ravenclaw, you were right, Padma, she _is_ special."

Luna watched Harry and Hermione walk away, hand in hand, and smiled.

"The fulcrum is in place, Daddy, time to move the world."

)O(

A/N: It was Archimedes who said, give me a big enough lever and I can move the world, of course, he said it in Ancient Greek, so it _really_ sounded impressive.


	2. Chapter 2: Resolving Relationships

Chapter 2 – Resolving Relationships

Padma was brushing out Luna's hair. The Sinhalese beauty often said it was so fine, soft and silky compared to her own thick, black tresses, that she loved playing with it.

Luna looked puzzled, "Padma, I thought you were _Ronald's_ date for the Yule Ball two years ago."

"I was, but at the last minute Parvati wanted to switch, so we did. We both thought that Ron would like Parvati's more, ah, _bohemian_ nature and Harry would be better paired with a less vapid date. Problem was, he was distracted the whole evening and the ball was crowded and noisy – I could tell Harry was uncomfortable in all the noise and confusion. Worst of all, Ron turned out to be a bloody great prat."

Padma's brush strokes became more aggressive.

"He ruined the evening for _all_ of us;" stroke, "Parvati," stoke, "me," stroke, "Hermione _and_ Harry," stroke, "and I _had_ been hoping," stroke, "to get _really_" stroke, "_close_ to him," stroke, "that night too." Stroke, stroke, "Bloody _Prat!" _

As she repeated the word "prat" she pulled a bit too enthusiastically on the brush.

"Ow!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Luna! I shouldn't be playing in your hair when I'm angry."

"I'm okay, Padma. I know you didn't mean it."

"You had a good time tonight, then?"

"Oh yes, all three of us did."

"Soooooo, do you think you and Hermione might be willing to share?" Padma asked, hopefully.

Luna took on that unfocused look that Padma had come to understand all too well.

"Right away? I'd have to say no."

Padma's crestfallen expression was too predictable, as was her reaction when Luna added, "However, stay friends with Hermione and Harry and me. Two years down the road, who knows?"

Luna smiled at Padma's hopeful reflection in the dressing table mirror, "If you're willing to be patient, there's a _very_ good chance."

"Yes!"

The following day was the last before the Yule Break; in fact it fell on the Solstice Eve. The sixth year Gryffindors had Charms and Herbology, the fifth year Ravenclaws went to Transfiguration and Potions. As the classes were winding down for the break the professors traditionally allowed students to make 'best use' of their own time, Harry, Hermione and Luna wheedled library passes from all their professors.

It was half past eight AM when the trio met at the main library door.

Luna stopped them before they all went in, "Harry, if someone is already using the Room of Requirement, does it lock others out, or does it create a whole new room, just for the newcomers?"

"That's a good question, Luna. Why do you ask?"

"Yesterday morning I was on the seventh floor and I saw a first year Slytherin girl loitering about that tapestry, you know, the one of Barnabas the Balmy?"

Harry nodded.

"I must have startled her because she shrieked and cried that I'd scared her. She seemed really frightened but calmed down when she saw I wasn't going to hurt her. I showed her the quickest route back to the Slytherin dorms and told her she shouldn't be wandering alone, poor lost little thing."

"Anyway, I paced in front of the spot where the door should be, like we did last year for the DA, and nothing happened."

Harry asked, "You want to check it out?"

Both girls agreed.

When they all arrived in front of the tapestry, there was no one else in the corridor, Luna paced and said, "We need a place to continue our therapy, we need a place to continue. . ." and so on until the ornate door appeared.

They entered a very comfortable, carpeted sitting room with two loungers and one enormous sectional chaise that could easily accommodate the three of them. A cheery fireplace roared its warm welcome to the room and cast a flickering light on the excellent tea set out on a sideboard.

Hanging their robes on pegs near the door, they loosened their school ties. The thick carpet enticed them to kick off their shoes and socks, so they did, enjoying the sensuous, soft weave between bare toes.

"Oh, this is _much_ nicer than the transfigured classroom." Luna said.

"Tea?" Harry asked.

"Two sugars, no milk." Luna requested.

"You know how I like mine, Harry." Hermione said with a smile.

They sat at a small table and enjoyed small talk.

Luna said, "We'll be leaving tomorrow, and won't be back until the first week of the New Year."

Hermione set her teacup on the table, "What do you suggest, Luna?"

"We should have one more session before lunch, after which, we should spend the rest of the day _exploring."_

Harry looked confused, "Exploring what?"

Luna shared a look with Hermione, expressive and eloquent, that begged the question, _are all boys this thick or are we just lucky enough to be able to get one young enough to train up right and proper?_

Hermione smiled and said, "Trust me; you'll like it, Harry."

He shrugged, but smiled inwardly. Of course he knew what 'exploring' meant, his libidinous inner-child was jumping up and down saying "Yes, yes, YES!"

Luna reclined in one of the loungers as Harry and Hermione kicked off their shoes to fall into the enormous chaise together.

"Won't you join us, Luna?" Harry suggested.

"Later perhaps, for now we need to concentrate, and that would be hard to do while making love to you."

Luna was amazed that Harry had enough blood to blush, as the tent forming in his trousers indicated most of his circulation had gone south.

_Time for that later_, Luna thought.

She began the morning's session by saying, "Harry, I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but, we have to marginalize Ronald."

"What do you mean by that?" he asked, quick to defend his friend.

"Ronald is a boorish, gluttonous, insensitive git who only thinks of himself. He refuses to consider other people's feelings."

Harry reluctantly agreed, but added, "He has his moments, b'sides, he's brilliant at chess."

Luna sighed, "Ronald stopped playing chess with me when I was seven years old."

"Why?"

"Because he has _never_ beaten me at it, Harry."

"Funny, he's never mentioned that to me." Harry said.

"Nor me." Hermione added.

"It's not something he _would_ talk about. You should know that being good at chess doesn't make you a brilliant leader or strategist. Chess pieces have fixed rules and limitations – real battle strategies are infinitely more complex than any chess game, and in actual battle the rules can change from one second to the next."

Harry wouldn't give up easily, "He was my first friend, after Hagrid."

"Harry, what was the first thing Ronald said after you introduced yourself?" Luna asked.

"Let me see, he said his name, 'Ron Weasley' and I said, Harry, Harry Potter and he said, 'are you really' and then he asked to . . . see . . . my . . . scar. _Damn it!"_

"You see Harry; all Ronald has ever wanted to do was to get in good with the 'Boy Who Lived'."

"He ate all but one of my chocolate frogs, too. I'm a Gryffindor because of him." Harry groused.

"I'm in Gryffindor because of you, Harry. I wanted to be in the same house as you and I told the Sorting Hat that. The Hat said he'd never seen a Potter sorted anywhere but Gryffindor. The Hat told me that I would do well in Ravenclaw."

Luna interrupted their rant, "It's okay you two, the Hat will not put anyone in a house for which they are not suited, you're in Gryffindor because you are both honorable and brave. Besides, Hermione, it wouldn't matter what house you were in – you are completely shattering the grade curve for your year, across all four houses."

Luna regarded Harry with her intuitive eyes.

"Harry, why are you not doing better in class?"

"What? I'm doing okay. The only OWLs I didn't get were in History of Magic and Divination."

"Yes, but you could be earning outstanding grades in all your classes. Furthermore, you should be taking Runes and Aritmancy. Why aren't you?"

"Aritmancy and Runes seemed too hard and my other grades are less than stellar because I tend to put things off until the last minute." He said, embarrassed.

"We can both benefit from Hermione's work ethic. She manages to have fun, but she finishes her work first, unlike a certain Weasley I could mention." Luna pointed out.

"I can't just walk away from Ron's friendship. Sure he can be a prat, but he had my back at the Department of Mysteries last summer."

Luna smiled, reminiscing, "Oh, yes, and why, exactly, did he think 'accio brains' was such a good idea?"

Hermione interjected, "Ronald will still be our friend, but he won't be our best friend anymore. I-I'm sorry, Harry, but we just can't afford him anymore. Whether consciously or not, all he does is to try to bring us down to _his_ level."

"I'm supposed to be spending the Yule break at the Burrow." He said, obviously not as keen on the idea as he had been. "I guess I can beg off and stay at Hogwarts again this year."

"You could stay with me." Both girls said simultaneously, then laughed.

"Hermione, don't you and your parents usually go to France for Christmas?" Harry asked.

She nodded.

"Then you should go. Spend time with your mum and dad. Maybe we could meet at the Burrow for Boxing day?"

Hermione brightened up, "I could take the international floo from Nantes, spend the morning at the Burrow, then pop back to my _Gran-mere's." _

"Could you get away, both of you, I mean?" Hermione asked.

Luna ticked off a mental list, "We'll let the Weasleys know that you'll be at our home in Ottery St. Catchpole for the holiday, and that we'll join them at the Burrow on Christmas day. Meanwhile, Harry, you can stay with me until then, Daddy won't mind, we have lots of room. Then, on Boxing Day, we'll all take the international to Nantes to visit Hermione's family. After that, the lot of us can come back to Hogwarts to work on our upcoming assignments."

Harry's expression was one of befuddled amusement, "Have I told you that I find smart, capable girls _very_ attractive?"

Hermione kissed his cheek and smiled a predatory smile, "Then you're doomed, Mister Potter, because both Luna and I are _scary_ brilliant."

Luna smiled as she watched them kiss and cuddle on the chaise. She cleared her throat, softly, and said, "We're not quite done with the session yet."

The two teens blushed but continued to snuggle.

"Will they go for it?" Harry asked, "The families I mean."

Luna's face took on the dreamy expression that Harry and Hermione now understood. She was calculating mathemagical probabilities.

Luna smiled, "Oh yes, they will."

"Now, to business. Training. Harry, what kind of training has Professor Dumbledore been giving you?"

Harry described Tom Riddle's life at the orphanage, and his early post-Hogwarts career with Borgin and Burkes, Slytherin's Locket and the Hufflepuff Cup.

When he'd finished both girls looked aghast.

"That's it?" Hermione asked, "No dueling practice, no protective or offensive spell-casting?"

"Um, no. Why?"

"Oh, Harry," Luna said, shaking her head, "don't you see?"

It was Harry's turn to shake his head.

Luna sat up and walked over to the couch to cuddle up against the side not already claimed by Hermione, "Harry, Dumbledore doesn't expect you to survive your confrontation with Voldemort. He's not training you to defeat Riddle. He's preparing you as a sacrifice to the _greater good."_

They lay, side by side, in companionable silence as the ramifications seemed to overwhelm them.

Finally, an obviously perturbed Hermione huffed, "That simply will _not_ do, Mister Potter."

Luna agreed, "No, it won't. I have at least two children in my future that will need their Daddy."

Hermione drew his face to hers and said, huskily, "What she said!" Then kissed him. Hard.

They finally broke the kiss, gasping for breath.

"I think we should still be able to breathe through our noses when we snog, don't you?" Luna suggested, "I admit, I don't have a lot of experience."

Harry turned to her and said, "Let's practice."

And they did.

While Harry and Luna kissed, Hermione's hands wandered over Harry's chest, then down his stomach, stopping just short of his trousers.

Not knowing whose hands were caressing him, he ran his hands over Luna's breasts, feeling their taut pliability through the fabric of her blouse and bra.

When they broke the kiss Harry groaned, "Oh yes, breathing while snogging is good.

He turned to face Hermione, who had unbuttoned his shirt and was stroking his torso.

"C'mere, you!" she said and devoured his mouth with her own. The tip of her tongue touched Harry's lips, begging entry, which he gladly allowed. He'd heard locker-room talk about 'French kissing' and was keen to give it a try. As he tongue-wrestled Hermione, she unbuttoned the top three buttons of her blouse and pulled Harry's hand inside to cup her breast.

Luna thought, _what a good idea_, and mirrored Hermione's actions, directing Harry's other hand to her breasts. Then she upped the ante - and her bra - by pulling it up to bare her small, perky mounds.

Both witches slid a leg over each of Harry's thighs and the warmth along with the pressure and bare skin and tongue-touching stimulations pushed Harry over the edge and, with a groan, he came inside his pants.

"I-I'm sorry," he gasped, "it's just that, no one has ever touched me like this before."

Hermione smiled, "No need to apologize, it's a compliment, really."

Luna stroked his chin and added, "It just means you find one, or both of us, very sexy."

He pulled them into a three-way hug, "That would be both of you, I-I think I _love_ you!"

Two heads popped up, and said, simultaneously, "Really?"

He nodded, "I don't want to imagine a life that doesn't revolve around you. Best I can tell, that means I love you."

Hermione touched her forehead to his, "Oh God, Harry, do you have any idea how long I've waited for you to say that?"

"Um, since the troll?" he guessed.

"Before that." She said. "Ever since I first saw you on the Hogwarts Express – you looked so small, so unlike anything I'd read about you. I decided right then and there that I was going to get to know the real Harry Potter."

Luna nuzzled his shoulder, "And I've loved you, Harry, from the day you first invited me to join Dumbledore's Army – you saw past the superficial and took a chance on the real Luna within."

Harry seemed to digest what each of the girls had said, then smiled, "Hermione Jane Granger, let's make this official. I love you. Will you please be _my_ witch?"

Luna's heart leapt, _Harry has been studying the Guide to Magical Rituals of Romantic Relationships. Or, as the upper forms called them, the Three Rs._

Hermione smiled, kissed him fiercely and snuggled down on his chest and said, "Of course."

"Luna, um, do you have a middle name?" Harry asked.

"Makes." She sniggered.

Harry thought about that for a moment and asked, "Really?"

"No, silly, my middle name is Selene."

"Oh! Good one, by the way."

"Thank you."

"Luna Selene Lovegood, I love you. Will you consent to be my witch, along with Hermione?"

Luna kissed him tenderly and said, "With all my heart, Harry."

She then took Hermione's hand in her own and said, "Hermione Jane Granger, we see the world through different eyes. You see things as they are, I see infinite possibilities - but when we agree on something, only a fool would ignore us. Will you consent to be my sister from another mother?"

Hermione squeezed her hand and said, "I'd be honored, and will you be mine as well?"

Lune brought Hermione's hand to her lips, kissed the knuckles and answered, "In perfect love, and perfect trust, sister dear. So mote it be."

There was no magical signature, no light show, bells or whistles, no sharing of consciousness, but the three young mages bonded at that moment with a depth of commitment that made mere marriage vows pale by comparison.

They became, in fact, the new 'Golden Trio'.

"Now comes the _exploring_ part." Hermione said as she finished unbuttoning her blouse, revealing the peach colored bra beneath.

Luna _'squeeed'_, saying, "This is going to be my best birthday _ever!"_

"Luna! You should have said something; we could have had a proper party!" Hermione said.

Luna pulled her blouse and bra over her head in one fluid motion, somehow managing to keep her wand firmly fixed behind her left ear, and smiled, "Oh we're going to have a party, Hermione. However, it's going to be anything but _proper!"_

Harry swallowed, hard. He looked at Luna's pale blue eyes.

"It's okay to look at my breasts Harry. I want you to."

He looked at her tiny fleshy cones with their pink, puffy caps and crinkled, pointed nipples and moaned, "Beautiful."

"Sit up, Harry." Hermione urged.

He did and both girls helped him out of his shirt and undervest.

"Harry," Hermione said, pointing to her bra, "I want you to take this off."

He nodded and snaked a hand around the back looking for a catch. When he didn't find one she said, "Front hook, Harry."

"You'll have to excuse me, love, it's my first bra."

All three laughed and Hermione guided his hands to the front fastener.

In a trice the clasp was undone and Hermione's beautifully rounded breasts stood proud and firm, her tan areola topped by eraser sized, erect nipples.

Harry looked back and forth between his two witches.

"They're so different, and yet, the only word I can use to describe them is _perfect!" _

They fell back into the soft cushions of the chaise and reveled in skin-on-skin contact.

Harry moaned, "It doesn't get any better than this!"

To which both witches replied, "Wanna bet?"

Half an hour later the trio, lips slightly snog-swollen, lay back on the soft cushions and sighed.

Hermione nuzzled his shoulder and asked, "Tea interval?"

"I'm thinking a light lunch, a short nap and then more explorations."

"Why don't we just spend the whole holiday here?" Harry asked, looking about the room.

"Because Yuletide is a time for family and we need ours to meet you." Luna said.

Harry looked nervous, "What if they don't like me? I mean, I know I'm not half good enough for either one of you, let alone both – ow!"

Harry rubbed the back of his head where both witches had smacked him.

"_They_ will love you because _we_ love you. That's what it means to be family." Luna said, sagely.

Hermione smiled, "Told you, scary brilliant."

After lunch they composed letters to the Weasley family, Granger family both in and out of Britain, and to Xenophilius Lovegood.

Harry sighed and said, "I suppose we'll need to get dressed before we leave."

Luna smirked, "Why?"

"Um, because we can't walk around Hogwarts topless?"

She smiled and handed over the school robes. Donning hers she fastened the frogs in such a way that you couldn't tell she was bare breasted beneath.

"Oh that is _so_ naughty!" Hermione enthused, and donned her own robe in like fashion.

Harry smirked and said, "Works for me." Then put on his robe.

"We should probably wear our shoes, though." He suggested.

Luna felt free and empowered as she walked the halls hand in hand with _her_ wizard. Knowing she was two fasteners away from flashing him whenever she wanted.

The owlery was a short walk from the entrance to the Main Hall, and the trio began to reconsider the wisdom of only having one layer of cloth between their bare skin and the December chill, until Hermione tapped each of their cloaks and intoned, _"Pro tepidus."_

The warming spell worked like a charm.

Walking back from the owlery they spotted three people leaving the great hall, heading up the stair.

Luna said, "Quick Harry, your cloak."

Harry pulled the shimmering invisibility cloak from his inside robe pocket and flung it over himself and his witches. They had to scrunch together tightly, but somehow, they were okay with that.

To their amazement it was Malfoy, in the company of two tiny firsties.

No one bothered to ask what Draco Malfoy wanted with two underage girls.

No one had to say, "Let's follow them."

That was a given, if for no other reason than to protect the virtue of two innocent eleven-year-old girls.


	3. Chapter 3: The Room of Hidden Things

Chapter 3 – The Room of Hidden Things

They followed the Draco and the girls up the familiar path to the seventh floor. The Slytherins stopped in front of the awful tapestry where Draco said, "Stand guard, Goyle."

"I'm Crabbe."

"Fine! Stand guard, _Crabbe_, and don't let anyone catch you looking in your own knickers again, you disgusting pervert."

Malfoy paced before the blank wall and said, "I need a place to hide this box, I need a place to hide this box, I need a place to hide this box."

A door appeared, but not the same door that opened into the room of requirement, this was utilitarian, less ornate. Draco went in and the door disappeared. The polyjuiced Crabbe stood in front of the tapestry, his hand probing the front of his skirt as if he were looking for something.

As quietly as possible, Harry, Hermione and Luna moved away from the corridor and found one of the many unused rooms in the thousand-year-old castle.

Harry locked the door and cast the _muffliato_ charm in case anyone happened by.

"That's why I couldn't get in yesterday." Luna said.

"He's got Crabbe and Goyle polyjuiced into those cute little girls." Hermione said, shaking her head as if trying to dislodge something there. "Ew!" she said, "Just, Ew!"

"What do we do? Confront Malfoy in the room?" Harry asked.

Luna considered the probabilities, and didn't like the majority of them.

With a shake of her sandy blonde head she returned from her ponderings. "We're going to need two potions, veritaserum and the draught _ut alieno_ - the draught of forgetfulness; both are in Professor Slughorn's storeroom. I know what to look for but I don't think he'll let me have either potion, as they are both ministry restricted items.

Harry smiled, "Sometimes it pays to have friends in low places.

Oh Dobby?"

A 'pop' like the sound of a champagne cork produced the wide eyed Hogwarts house elf, Dobby.

The manic little elf looked like he was going to start humping Harry's leg at any moment.

"How can Dobby serve the Great Harry Potter sir, misses?"

Luna knelt down to be at eye level with the odd elf, "Hello, little friend, you are Harry's very good friend, aren't you?"

Dobby stood his full thirty-seven inches tall, not counting his many hats, and said, "Dobby is being the Great Harry Potter's _bestest_ elf friend!"

Luna used her wand to conjure images of two distinctive potions bottles. "Harry needs these two potions . . ."

And the elf was gone.

"Was it something I said?" Luna asked, worried that she'd somehow offended the elf.

Hermione grumbled, "Wait for it."

Another 'pop' and Dobby was back with a potion bottle in each hand, "Is these what youse be needing for the Great Harry Potter, miss?"

"Yes, thank you, little friend."

"Yes," Harry added, "thank you, Dobby, you're the best!"

Tears of gratitude spilled over as the elf disappeared.

"Nothing but race-based slavery - disgusting."

"We'll address our house-elf issues in a later session, I think. Now we need to get back to the seventh floor." Luna said, "And quickly."

Three minutes later they turned the corner and saw two harmless looking waifs in Slytherin house robes.

"Stupefy on three," Luna whispered, "One, two, three, _stupefy!"_

The girls looked positively cherubic, lying on the floor, unconscious.

Luna started patting down their cloaks and uniforms.

"What are you looking for?" Harry asked.

"Should be a bottle or a flask or a . . . ah! Found it. Check the other one for a vial, like this one."

Hermione did and came up with a matching small glass bottle, the contents of which they all recognized.

"Un-stopper Goyle's bottle, be careful not to spill any."

She did and Luna appeared to inspect Hermione's skirt.

"Perfect! Here," Luna said, "hold up the bottle."

She dropped in a short, ginger hair.

Then dropped another in Crabbe's bottle, corked it, and returned it to the little girl's skirt pocket.

"Luna, have I told you lately that I love you?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, but it's still nice to hear."

Harry snorted, "You put Crookshank's hair in their polyjuice."

Hermione's smile was predatory, "And human to animal polyjuice transformations last for several days, not just an hour. Believe me, _I_ know."

"Whatever Draco is doing in there must require a great deal of concentration, so, as long as he's not too near the door, we have a better than even chance of catching him unawares." Luna explained.

She then pulled a tiny, gilded egg from her robe's inner pocket and paced the corridor saying, "I need a place to hide this egg, I need a place to hide this egg, I need a place to hide this egg."

The plain door formed in the wall.

"Wands out." Harry said, "And let's get under the cloak."  
As silently as three church mice, the trio slipped into the Room, not of Requirement, but of Hidden Things.

Row upon row of mangled furniture, melted cauldrons, and contraband of every description filled the seemingly endless room. Here a fanged Frisbee, nearly disenchanted, hovered pitifully a few inches above the litter-strewn floor. There a hoard of empty sherry bottles overflowed a bin.

"Shite, shite, shite _shite, Shite!"_

"And here I thought it would be hard to find him." Harry whispered.

Malfoy stood before a familiar looking cabinet, the ground before him strewn with books and scrolls of parchment. He looked on the verge of tears as he beat on the side of the furniture with his fists.

"This has to work, it _has_ to - _everything_ depends on this!" he whimpered.

As the imperceptible trio drew nearer, a protruding broken table leg snagged the cloak and fell to the floor with a clatter.

Malfoy went from piteous child to murderous Death Eater in less than half a second, _"Avada Kedavra!" _he screamed and a jet of sickly green light just missed Harry by a fraction of an inch.

"Expeliarmus!" Harry shouted from under the cloak and Malfoy's wand sailed off into the distance.

Furious, Harry threw off the cloak and advanced on the panicked Slytherin, cocked his fist back and punched Draco in the nose, which broke with a satisfying crunch.

"Petrificus totalus!" Hermione shouted, coming out from under the cloak.

"Please note, Malfoy, that I broke your nose before you were petrified, not _after_, you bloody gutless son of a bitch!"

Luna placed a calming hand on Harry's back and said, "I'm sorry to have to undo your fine work, Harry, but we're going to have to put things back the way they were before we came in, including fixing Draco's nose."

Hermione knelt by the fallen, petrified Malfoy heir and smiled most unpleasantly, "The bad news is that resetting your nose is going to hurt - quite a lot more than breaking it did. The good news is that you won't remember the pain after we've gone."

Saying this, Hermione touched her wand tip to the end of Draco's bloodied nose and said, _"Repairo!" _

The sounds of bones and cartilage in Malfoy's face reforming made Luna more than a bit nauseous. She saw that Harry and Hermione were a bit squicked as well.

Draco would have given half his family's fortune just to be able to scream.

A few _scourgify_ and _turgio_ charms later and all the evidence of Draco's little 'mishap' had been swept away.

"_Vestri caput capitis."_ Luna intoned, releasing Draco's head from petrifaction, and then pinched his tender, just healed nose.

"Three drops, if you would, please, Hermione."

Three drops later the questioning began.

"Are you a Death Eater?" Harry asked.

"Yes."

"Are you trying to kill Professor Dumbledore?" Luna asked.

"Yes."

"Have you already killed?" Hermione asked, afraid of the answer.

"Yes."

"Who?" She asked, aghast.

"I don't know - some mudblood."

"What are you doing in this room?" Harry asked.

"Trying to fix this cabinet."

"To what end?" Luna asked.

"To let Death Eaters into Hogwarts."

Luna nodded, "I understand, this is not a vanishing cabinet, it's a portal."

"Yes."

"That wasn't a question, Draco, it was an observation."

Harry asked, "When? When are the Death Eaters coming?"

"As soon as I fix my end of the portal."

"Where is the other end?"

"Borgin and Burkes."

"Draco," Hermione asked, "What do you have to do to get the dark mark?"

Luna put a soothing hand on her sister's arm, "Don't ask a question if you don't want to hear the answer, Hermione."

"I need to hear this; I have to try to understand what we're up against." She looked at Draco, "Tell me."

"You have to kill someone. And you have to enjoy it."

"And did you?" Hermione whispered.

"Yes, she cried and pleaded and said she'd do _anything_ and I let her and it felt _so_ good!"

Draco's eyes seemed to clear, and he smiled. "It felt good because as I rogered her I thought of you. When I killed her I didn't use my wand, I used my potions knife. I slit her throat. I looked into her terrified eyes as she bled out and I thought of _you." _

Hermione stumbled back as if she'd been struck a physical blow.

Luna pinched the Slytherin's nose shut and handed Harry the other potion bottle. She barely resisted the urge to tell him to empty the bottle into Malfoy's mouth, leaving him a mindless husk for the rest of his life.

"Three drops, Harry." She said.

Malfoy's eyes rolled up in his head as the memories of the past three hours were permanently erased - beyond the reach of any charm or spell or potion.

Harry none too gently dragged Malfoy out of the Room of Hidden Things and deposited him in a heap next to the polyjuiced Crabbe and Goyle.

Luna knelt down and wound her fingers in a lock of pale, blond Malfoy hair then pulled it out in one hard tug. She carefully wound the hair into a circle and placed it in the inner-pocket of her robe.

"Dobby!"

'Pop!'

"Harry Potter calls Dobby, not once, but twice in one day!"

"Dobby, I need you to return these potions to Professor Slughorn's potions storeroom. And can you return these three sleeping beauties to the Slytherin common room?"

The normally manic house elf seemed to sense the gravity of the situation. He nodded solemnly and said, "I will be taking the sneaky snakes back to their room, but you should be knowing something. Little former master is having the bad mark now."

"We know, Dobby." Luna said sadly, "We know."

The elf disappeared, taking the "sneaky snakes" with him.

Luna recalled the Room of Requirement and she and Harry led the sobbing Hermione back to _their_ chaise.

Luna sighed, "You have looked into the face of evil, true evil, Hermione. I wish you hadn't."

"H-he's just a boy, no older than Harry. How can he have done such horrible things - _how?"_

"Choices." Luna said, "Every day we have an infinite number of choices. Draco's choices have led him to become a murderer, worse, he feels no remorse."

"I-I thought the Wizarding World would be wonderful."

Luna understood, "An enchanted place, where all your problems could be solved by magic."

"But a muggleborn witch in the Wizard-centric world is never going to be anything more than a second-class citizen – I'm less than human to them – you heard him, he _completely_ hates me. He hates the very fact that I exist. And he wants me dead, but first he wants me to suffer."

She squeezed her eyes shut, "Oh that poor girl, what he did to her! She died in pain, humiliated, _terrified!"_

Luna pulled her into a tight embrace, "They won't touch you - we won't let them!"

Harry quietly rose from the chaise.

"No!" Hermione cried, "Stay. _Please_ stay, Harry!"

He fell back into the cushions and held Hermione tightly, fiercely protectively.

They lay for several long minutes as Hermione cried.

Luna knew that these were tears of grief for a girl Hermione didn't even know, but who symbolized all the non-magical victims of the pure-blood bigots that surrounded them.

Finally she cried herself to sleep.

Nightmares might have come, but Luna and Harry were there, and when Hermione's brow furrowed, they soothed and comforted and loved her with soft murmurs and caresses.

It was mid afternoon when Hermione sat up with a gasp, "Oh!"

She saw Luna and Harry looking back at her with love in their eyes.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what happened, I can't believe I fell asleep."

Harry and Luna sat up and hugged her.

"You slept because you needed to, it was a healing sleep, and we were happy to be here for you."

"But we were going to _explore_." She said, with a touch of frustration in her voice.

Luna shook her head, "Now would _not_ be a good time, we can wait a few days. After five days you'll come to us in Ottery St. Catchpole, and the day after that we'll be off to France."

"Right now, we have somewhere else to be." She added.

"Where's that, Luna?" Harry asked.

"Gryffindor Tower."

The trio approached the portrait of the corpulent lady.

Hermione made the introductions, "Good afternoon, this is Luna Lovegood, she is a guest of mine and Harry's."

Luna placed her fingers in her ears and turned her back so that she wouldn't hear the password. She only turned around again because Harry embraced her from behind and nuzzled her neck.

The lady in the portrait said, "That was very considerate of you, Miss Lovegood, most students would have eavesdropped and forced me to change the password."

Luna curtsied, "Thank you miss, you're very kind."

"And it seems we have an inter-house romance." the lady said with a twinkle, "That always makes for such juicy gossip, I-I mean conjecture."

Luna looked at Harry and Hermione, "Should we tell her?"

Hermione smiled, "What better way to let the whole world know?"

Luna turned back to the painting, "Oh, we're not a _couple_, miss." she embraced Harry from the left as Hermione slid to his right, "We're a _thruple!" _

The lady's eyes grew wide as saucers as she said, "Come in, come in!" And in the time it took the trio to cross over the threshold the portrait lady was gone with a speed that belied her size.

They entered the common room and saw Ron sitting at the chess table, apparently trying to show Lavender the finer points of the game.

"Hello Ronald." Luna said dreamily, "Fancy a game?"

Ron looked up expectantly until he saw who had asked.

"Um, no, thank you, Luna, I, um, _we_ were just leaving."

"We are?" Lavender asked, obviously confused.

"Yeah, we're going to get something to eat, um, Quidditch related, or something."

"Something?" Lavender asked, wiggling her eyebrows.

"Yeah, ah, later." He said, pulling the unresisting girl behind him.

Hermione smirked, "Food, Quidditch and chess. That pretty well sums him up."

Luna's eyes unfocused for a moment, then she said, "Lavender's not on the potion, and she plans to give Ronald a 'remember me' gift before everyone goes home for the holidays."

Hermione's eyes grew wide, "But they're too young. . ."

"And what would we be doing right now if it hadn't been for the Slytherin boys?"

Hermione sputtered, "Yes, but, I mean, I'm _on_ the potion and. . ."

Luna patted Hermione's hand, "I'm sure we can convince Lavender to have a dose of 'Peace of Mind' with breakfast."

Hermione looked relieved. "Of all the _irresponsible. . ."_

Her rant was interrupted by Neville entering the room.

"Hey Harry, Luna, Hermione! Are we off to the Department of Mysteries again?" he asked, jokingly.

Luna smiled her dreamiest smile and said, "As a matter of fact, Neville, we are!"


	4. Chapter 4: Did I Fail to Mention?

Chapter 4 – Did I Fail to Mention?

The next morning passed in a flurry of frenetic activities, Luna dressed in a soft, red jumper and jeans, and carried her winter robe over her arm on the way down to breakfast.

When she got there she sat next to Hermione at the Gryffindor table.

"Have we seen Lavender yet?"

Hermione shook her head while spearing a grapefruit section.

As if on cue, Lavender Brown flounced into the great hall and floated down on the bench opposite them.

"Hullo Hermione, hi Luna, isn't it a glorious morning to be alive?" she sing-songed.

"Had a good night then?" Hermione asked.

"Very good, unbelievably good, one for the _muses_ good."

"Was Ron in any way part of your extremely good time?"

"Oh he was a large, very _large_ part of the extraordinarily good time!"

"And did you remember to take your potion."

Lavender's smile fell slightly, then seemed to hover uncertainly, then crashed and burned.

"Po-potion?"

"Yes," Hermione said, enjoying herself just a little bit too much, "You remember the potion we're supposed to take just in case we might have a really, _really_ good night?"

By now Lavender's eyes were wide as saucers, and her lower lip trembled.

"Have you recently had your monthlies," Luna asked, "Or are you about to?"

Lavender slowly shook her head, and in barely a whisper, said, "It's been two weeks."

"So, in short, you are at your most fertile and you've just had a night that would make a bishop kick a hole in a stained glass window?"

Before Lavender could run screaming from the hall, Hermione pushed a goblet in front of her.

"Wha-what's this?"

"Just a little 'Peace of Mind' for you."

Hermione slid the small packet of _Peace of Mind Morning-after Draught Mix_ across the table.

Lavender picked up the packet in trembling hands.

"Here, let me." Luna said, tearing the packet open, emptying the pink powder into the water-filled goblet.

The contents bubbled and then settled into a bright red, effervescing brew, which Lavender downed in a single gulp.

Wincing at the after-taste, Lavender looked across at Hermione and Luna and said, "I don't know what to say, I don't know how to thank you."

Hermione smiled, "Just be more responsible in the future, unless you think you and _Won-won_ are ready for even _more_ responsibility."

Lavender smiled weakly and made the 'cross my heart' sign across her ample chest.

She pushed the goblet back to the center of the table, her sigh one of immense relief, "I feel like I've dodged a Killing Curse."

Luna smiled and patted her hand, "That's what friends are for, Lavender."

Harry entered the Great Hall and Luna and Hermione slid apart to let him sit between them.

He gave each of his witches a proper "good morning" kiss and said, "Hi", to Lavender.

Harry sniffed at the goblet in the middle of the table and asked, "What is this? It smells really good; is there any more?"

The girls looked, for a moment, like deer caught in headlamps, then all three nearly fell out of their seats laughing.

Neville joined them and handed Luna a sealed letter. "Uncle Algie wrote and said to give you this. He also said that he still misses Selene. Who's Selene?"

Luna smiled, "My grandmother, she and Algernon were quite the item when they were students here."

Ron came in, yawning, and sat next to Lavender, who smacked him on the shoulder. Hard!

"Ow! Wazzat for?"

"We'll talk about it later, now kiss me."

After a compulsory peck on the lips Ron said, "Mental, completely mental."

Dean and Ginny entered, holding hands and joined the group at the table.

"Oh good, everyone's here." Luna said as she fished a galleon coin from her jeans pocket.

"Does everyone have theirs?" she asked.

Harry, Hermione, Neville, Ron and Ginny each produced a coin.

"Excellent, give them to Neville."

Dean looked confused, "Taking up a collection, Neville?"

"Sort of, my Uncle Algie needs these for a, ah, charms experiment."

Dean looked at his girlfriend, "It's something to do with the Ministry Six, innit?"

Ginny looked at Harry, who nodded his approval.

"Yes," Harry said, "and it could be dangerous."

"I'm in, then." Dean said, without blinking. He pulled the protean charmed galleon from his own trousers and handed it to Neville.

Ginny looked both pleased and surprised.

"Me too." Lavender insisted, fishing in her purse for her own charmed coin.

Neville grinned, "Dumbledore's Army rides again."

Luna's soft, dreamy voice countered, "It may be Dumbledore's Army, but I'm in _Potter's Command."_

Dean smiled and said, "I guess that makes us Potter's Commandos!"

Nods all around the table and choruses of "Yes!" and "Works for me!"

A loud, distinctively feline screech, followed by another drew their attention to the entryway, where two enormous ginger cats, in Slytherin robes, streaked up the stairs leading to the hospital wing.

Hermione looked at Luna and smiled, "I love you, Luna Lovegood."

The object of Hermione's affections blushed and said, "Thank you, that's always nice to hear. I love you too."

"Sooooo," Padma said, coming over from the Ravenclaw table, "a 'thruple', is it?"

Harry smiled, "I _do_ like the sound of that."

Ron and Dean looked at Harry, then at their perspective girlfriends.

"I don't share!" Ginny and Lavender said in unison.

Padma put one arm around Hermione to Harry's left and the other around Luna, sitting on Harry's right. This put her cheek to cheek with Harry, and she stage-whispered, "Be sure to call me if you need anything," she said, then lowered her voice an octave and whispered, "_anything at all."_

"Um, sure, Padma." Harry said, confused.

"Do you have your protean coin?" Luna asked.

The Indian beauty fished her coin from a front pocket of her tight jeans.

"Give it to Neville, and welcome to Potter's Commandos."

Harry was mesmerized by the jeans that he wasn't sure weren't painted on.

He couldn't help himself, "How _do_ you get into those jeans, Padma?"

She smiled and said, "You start by bringing me flowers." Then walked back to her table with an enticing sway of the hips.

The four boys were transfixed by Padma's patent sensuality.

Hermione smiled at them and said, "Yep, they all have pulses."

Harry, Dean and Ron looked guilty.

"Its okay, boys," Luna assured them, "I think we'd be more worried if you _hadn't_ reacted to her."

Filch entered the great hall and announced, "The Hogsmeade carriages are ready, headmaster."

Dumbledore rose and bade all the students going home for the Yuletide a safe sojourn and return.

"Let's all share a compartment on the way back to King's Cross!" Ron suggested as they walked down the front steps to where the carriages waited.

Lavender and Ginny both smacked him on the back of the head.

Ginny looked up at Dean and said, "Or we could try to have some privacy for the couples, and," she looked at Harry, Hermione and Luna, "the _thruple."_

Harry snuggled into the carriage seat with his two contented witches. Ron and Lavender attempted to eat each other's faces all the way to the King's Cross Express.

When they arrived at Hogsmeade Station, Ron nearly shouted in frustration. "Oh bloody hell! It's a short train, _again!"_

Harry had only taken the Yule Express once before, so he didn't know that the Department of Magical Transportation sometimes ran the train with fewer passenger cars, assuming there would be fewer students. What no one in the Department seemed to realize was that nearly _all_ students went home for the holiday. It would be a packed train. There would be no chance for privacy.

"I guess we'll have to share a compartment, then." Ron said, disappointment dripping off each syllable.

Hermione said, "We'll need to spend at least an hour each patrolling the train."

"It shouldn't take _that_ long." Ron groused.

They were walking toward the platform when the last thestral-drawn carriage rolled up and disgorged six Slytherins. Pansy, the last to debark, looked pale and drawn. She looked about, spotted Harry and his companions and sneered.

"Something is wrong." Luna said, "Pansy is afraid. Desperately, deathly afraid and feels she has no hope."

Ron sneered, "And we should feel bad about that, why exactly?"

Luna turned, abruptly, to face him, "If I'm right, Pansy is going to die, and that would diminish us. She's sixteen years old and mortally frightened, and worse, she feels alone, completely alone."

Then Luna turned to Neville, who quailed under her scrutiny.

After a few long moments she said, "A pureblood from an ancient and noble family could tip the scales here, save a life, maybe save the world."

Neville nodded, took a deep breath, let half of it out and walked away calling, "Hey, Pansy! Got a minute?"

Luna closed her eyes and smiled.

Harry, Hermione, Luna, Ron, Lavender, Ginny, and Dean managed to find a compartment. It was comfortable, if not spacious. Neville joined them just as the train prepared to depart Hogsmeade Station.

"Pansy's grandmum and mine are in the Grande Dames club together, and I invited them both, on my grandmum's behalf, to tea the day after tomorrow."

Luna smiled, "You've done more than you realize, Neville. You will want to thank me later."

"Um, sure Luna."

Neville felt like the odd man out, but there really wasn't anywhere else for him to go, the rest of the cars were as packed as theirs. And he couldn't exactly spend five hours in a crowded compartment packed full of Slytherins.

As soon as the train left the station Hermione stood and said, "Let's go, Ron. Prefect's meeting."

He grumbled, but grudgingly stood to follow Hermione to the prefect's compartment. Luna wrapped her arms around Harry's neck and snuggled into his side, content to be close to _her_ wizard.

She didn't realize she'd slept until a familiar voice woke her with a whispered, "Luna, Harry, come with me!"

She opened her eyes and saw Padma beckoning them.

"Let's see what she wants, Harry."

"Okay, it'll be good to stretch my legs a bit." Harry agreed. "I could do with a loo."

"Me too, Harry, want to share?"

"Uh, I, uh."

Luna smiled, she loved discombobulating her wizard.

Padma led them back to the last passenger car, where a smiling Hermione greeted them, "Welcome to our private car!"

They passed out of the passenger car into the nearly empty luggage car.

"We've sectioned it off so that four couples, or rather, three couples and one thruple can have a quarter of the space." Hermione said leading them back to the curtained off left-rear quarter.

Pulling back the curtain revealed a nice rug, in the middle of which was an enormous chaise lounge of the type they'd come to appreciate in the Room of Requirement.

Luna "Squeeeed!" and jumped into the middle of the lounger as Hermione set charms around the curtains. Silencing charm, privacy charm, and a particularly useful charm that would make anyone, other than themselves, suddenly have to find a loo if they got within four feet of their privacy area.

"Not to bring up a mood killer or anything, but did anyone see Malfoy at the station?" Harry asked.

"Malfoy and Nott are still at the castle," Luna said, "as are Crabbe and Goyle, but _they_ have to stay over the hols until their polyjuice 'accident' can be cleared up."

"But, don't you think Draco will try go back and fix the portal over the break?"

Hermione smiled, "Luna and I both cast separate _confundus_ charms on that corridor, it was beautiful watching those spells weave together. Dumbledore himself won't be able to find that corridor, let alone the Room of Hidden Things."

Luna added, "And even if he does, somehow, manage to find his way into the room, he'll be looking for a vanishing cabinet, not a chamber pot. Nice bit of transfiguration there, by the way, sister dear."

Hermione buffed her fingernails against her blouse, and with exaggerated grace said, _"Thenk yew."_

"Not at all, dearie."

"We have four hours to kill before we even get to London, and another half-hour to Kings Cross." Hermione said, unbuttoning her blouse as she slid onto the chaise, "What would _you_ like to do, Mister Potter?"

"Oh let's just lie here and see what develops."

Luna smirked and said, "Just one problem."

Harry raised his eyebrows, "And that is?"

"Someone has on far too many clothes."

Harry drew Luna into a hug, running his hands over her back and arms.

"I love the feel of this jumper, Luna." He breathed, moving his hands around to the front to cup her breast through the soft material.

"It's from Cashmere." She breathed.

"I've never been, but I love it already."

"Give me just a minute, Harry." She said and did an amazing trick with her bra that let her remove it through one sleeve, leaving her braless under the incredibly soft wool.

"Feel it now, Harry." She sighed.

He did and groaned, "Oh yeah, this feels _marvelous."_

Luna moaned, "Yes, you do."

They lay back on the chaise and Hermione admired their tender attentions.

Luna saw Hermione through lust-fogged eyes and whispered, "We have hours, love, don't neglect my sister-in-love."

Harry nodded and, half stupefied, raised up just enough to pull Hermione down into a tight embrace.

Each took turns snogging Harry; so that they were tenderly, passionately, teasingly and lovingly eating up the miles between Hogsmeade and London, until Hermione sat up and pulled Harry with her.

"I want to _feel_ you, Harry." She said and hooked the hem of his shirt and undervest so that she could tug both off, leaving him bare-chested.

"Now me." She said, leaning slightly back so he could push her open blouse off her shoulders.

He recognized the front-hook design on her white-lace bra and had that off in a trice.

Hermione stood, unbuttoned and unzipped her jeans, then stepped out of them so that she stood in just her white-lace French-cut knickers.

She slid back onto the chaise lounge and tugged Harry's belt buckle.

"C'mon, Mister Potter, lose the trousers."

"Pants too?" he asked.

"Take off whatever you're comfortable taking off." She growled, "I plan to keep my knickers on, but who knows what may happen? It _is_ a long train ride…"

Luna thought, what a wonderful idea, and then stood on the other side of the chaise and kicked off her trainers and removed her own jeans. Her knickers were light blue, thin cotton bikini style. She started to remove her cashmere jumper when Harry said, "No. Please leave it on; I _love_ how you feel in that!"

At Hermione's insistent tugging Harry removed his shoes, socks and trousers, leaving him in only his plain white boxers. Then he laid back on the marvelous lounge and reveled in the feel of his mostly naked witches as they covered his body with theirs.

They enjoyed the three-way, practically denuded snog most of the way into London. About an hour out Hermione asked, "Harry, do you mind if we try something? I think you'll like it, I'm pretty sure we will too."

"Anything you want, Hermione, I hope you know that by now."

She nodded. "All you have to do is lie there. Good, now spread your legs a bit - that's right. Now, Luna, straddle his right thigh, yes, just like that, I've got his left."

Luna swung her leg over and sat on Harry's well-muscled leg.

"Luna, lean forward a bit." Hermione instructed.

When she did, Luna felt something like an electric shock as her sex was now pressed against Harry's bare skin.

"Oh!" she whimpered as the feeling spread from her center, outward, to reverberate back to her damp sex.

Hermione smiled and said, "You've just had a 'little one', you want a 'big one'?

Luna could only nod; she didn't trust herself to speak.

"Then do as I do."

Saying this Hermione rubbed her barely covered sex up and down the length of Harry's naked thigh, groaning as she did. Luna watched in fascination as her adopted sister masturbated against their wizard's leg, faster and faster until she groaned and pressed and wiggled herself against him, shuddering in her completion.

Through half-lidded eyes she said, "Your turn, Luna love."

Luna smiled and began to lightly stroke Harry's thigh with her thinly-clad vulva. The slight movement of light cotton leeched moisture from her dampening cleft until the gusset of her knickers was completely soaked through and very slick against Harry's thigh. She ground herself hard against his solid muscle, then harder and harder still until she had leaned nearly fully forward, pushing her stiff button against him and gasping for breath.

Wave after wave of pleasure started from her wet sex and pulsed in great hot waves through her entire body, only to bounce back to her damp heat to reverberate harder and stronger until she had to shriek, "AhhhAAAAAAHHHHHHaaaaaaahhhhhhh!"

When Luna opened her eyes is was to look into the smiling eyes of both Harry and Hermione.

Her sister smirked, "You're quite the screamer, Luna. It's a good thing we put up silencing charms or someone would have thought we were killing you in here.

Luna purred, "You _did_ kill me. Please feel free to kill me again, anytime."

Hermione stroked her cheek and said, "Now lie back and watch me, you can do this for yourself and Harry the whole week while he's at your house."

Hermione straddled Harry's hips and lined up his erection so that she could move her cleft up and down the underside of his shaft through his boxers.

"C'mon, Harry." She said as she ground down against him, "c'mon, c'mon, come for me, come, come, come, aaaaahhhhhhnnnnn!"

Harry didn't last long before he groaned and added his sticky, slick fluids to those already soaking Hermione's knickers.

Hermione, still straddling his softening member, draped bonelessly across his chest and said, "That's a good boy, that's a _very_ good boy!"

They lay in a contented heap for the next three-quarters of an hour when a silver fox _patronus_ announced, in Padma's charming accented English, "King's Cross in fifteen minutes."

A few cleaning and freshening spells and the preternaturally relaxed trio walked back to the cramped compartment.

When they arrived they saw Lavender cuddled against Ron in the corner nearest the window, both asleep. Neville on the opposite side of their bench, also asleep, and Dean stretched out as much as his tall frame would allow, on the other seat.

"Where's Ginny?" Harry asked.

Dean rose groggily to sit up and pointed at the ceiling.

The trio looked up and saw Ginny, lying on three sets of robes on the luggage rack, sound asleep.

Harry laughed, "I guess there are some advantages to being vertically challenged."

A sleepy voice from above murmured, "That better not be a 'short' joke, Potter."

"She lives!" Dean cried in mock-surprise, then helped his diminutive girlfriend climb down from the overhead.

"Where'd y' go?" Ron asked, sleepily.

"Oh we were just checking out a few things on the train." Luna said, dreamily, "You'd be amazed what there is to uncover."

"For four and a half hours?" Dean asked, incredulously.

"We were _very_ meticulous." Hermione said, smirking.

"Thorough." Harry added with a grin of his own.

There was a scrum as all the students on the train tried to leave at the same time. The older students, who could, apparated off the train, which helped alleviate the crowding.

"Let's just wait a bit for the crowd to thin out." Hermione suggested.

Pansy Parkinson stopped briefly by the compartment door to hand Neville a sealed envelope. She gave the group a perfunctory nod and hurried off.

Ron and Lavender, in full snog, didn't appear to notice her. They appeared desperate to spend what precious time they could together.

Luna observed the two Gryffindors snogging and noted the distinctively wrapped box in Lavender's lap. She applied what she knew of Lavender, from the few conversations they'd had in the DA, and then compared that information to the vast amount of data she had on Ronald, her distant neighbor in Ottery St. Catchpole, and saw an impending disaster.

Luna, in her best dreamy voice, asked, "Boys, could we have a few minutes of 'girl time', please?"

Harry stood, recognizing the 'Luna's on a mission' tone.

Neville and Dean stood as well, ready to follow Harry out.

"Do we have to?" Ron asked, not keen to end the snogging session so soon.

"Well," Luna said, "you can stay if you really want to; I was going to compare notes with the other girls here about our monthly flows and the best feminine products, there's all that blood and mess. . ."

Ron was out the door like a scalded cat, followed by Neville and Dean, both of whom were a little green about the gills, finally a chuckling Harry left, saying, "Try not to be too long, love."

Luna turned to the blonde sixth-year first.

"Lavender, do you want to keep dating Ronald?"

The girl looked shocked, "Of course, you should see what I got him for Christmas, here."

She undid the ribbon and opened the box to show off a gaudy gold pendant that spelled out, "My Sweetheart" in flowing script.

"Oh, very pretty, what do you think, Ginny?"

Ginny, startled at her sudden inclusion stammered, "It's, um, very shiny."

Luna turned to her sister-in-love, "Hermione?"

"You put a lot of thought into that gift, didn't you, Lavender."

Luna nodded and said, "It truly is the thought that counts, but I'm afraid Ron won't care for it, he will never wear it."

Lavender stared wide-eyed at Luna and began to tremble, "but it was the best I could afford and I really just want him to know that I really, really love him and . . . and . . ."

And she began to cry in great hiccoughing sobs.

Ginny wrapped her arm around the older girl's trembling shoulders, "We know you mean well, Lav, but we've known Ron a lot longer is all."

Lavender looked to Luna and Hermione with pleading eyes, "What can I do?"

Luna answered, "Remember, Lavender, if Ron is important to you, then his hobbies and interests will have to be yours. If you can't do that, then it would be kinder to break it off now."

"I-I really think he's the one for me." She said, sniffing.

Hermione smiled, "Well, are we or are we not witches?"

They put their four heads together and crafted two matching bracelets one with a distinctively masculine, Germanic script, the other in feminine cursive saying "Weasley is Our King."

Ginny took one to give to Ron as a present for Lavender. The other, more masculine, bracelet went back into the gift box.

By the time the four witches left the compartment most of the crowd had thinned and Lavender was recomposed and refreshed.

"Oh, and one more thing," Luna said, "Call him Ron or Ronald, he's starting to not like _Won-won."_

Lavender nodded, "I'll remember that, thanks."

The boys returned, rapping cautiously on the door as if to be sure the 'girl stuff' was over and done with.

Harry smiled the smile he always had for Luna – she was such a joy to be around, "How did the discussion go?"

"Very well, good information all around and, oh!"

She took Lavender by the arm and hustled her off to the side, "I just remembered, as Editor in Chief of the Quibbler, Daddy has permanent press-box passes to all the Chudley Cannons' home games. We never use them, because the Cannons always lose, and where's the news in that?"

Lavender tried hard to follow what Luna was trying to say. "So?"

"So when I get home I can owl you the tickets and you can give them to Ronald, along with the bracelet."

Lavender's eyes grew wide and she squealed with glee, picked Luna up in a tight hug and spun her around, singing "Oh thank you, thank you, thank yoooouuuuuu!" in a high squeaky voice.

The two laughing girls skipped back to the group, hand in hand.

"What was that all about?" Ron asked.

Lavender smiled, "You'll see. Promise you won't open this till Christmas?"

Ron accepted the jewelry box and said, embarrassed, "I, um, sure, Lavender."

They kissed goodbye and as soon as she'd left to find her parents Ron looked to Harry in a panic, "Harry, can you loan me a few galleons? I've got to find a present for Lavender."

A tap on the shoulder and Ron turned to see Ginny holding up a small gold bracelet, "Not to worry, big brother, I've got you covered."

He looked at the fine script "Weasley is Our King" and smiled, "Oh, I like that, but will Lavender like it?"

Luna said, "I know she will."

"Hermione! Sweetie, over here!"

"Mum! Dad!" she cried and ran over to fall into a tight three-way hug with her parents. She took them both by the hand and practically dragged them over to meet her friends.

"Mum, Dad, this is Harry."

Mrs. Granger furrowed her eyebrows and looked back and forth between her daughter and Harry.

Hermione smiled and nodded, which made her mum smile as well.

Mr. Granger, typical dad, sized up the young wizard and seemed to find him wanting.

"Doctor Granger, I'm pleased to meet you sir, Hermione has told me quite a lot about you, sir."

As they shook hands, the dad in Mr. Granger seemed to be warring with the bloke who was very impressed by the poise and good manners of the young man who wanted nothing more than to steal his daughter.

"Franklin Granger. Pleased to meet you, Harry."

"Doctor Granger, I'm very pleased to meet you, ma'am. Hermione tells me she gets her love of books from you."

"Helen Granger. And I'm so glad I finally have a face to go along with the name that's been in every letter home since Hermione's first year."

"Everything Hermione has said about me is absolutely true, ma'am. I'm terribly sorry…"

"Oh, I like this one, Hermione, let's keep him."

Franklin Granger smiled, but even the most unobservant spectator would have recognized the underlying message, "Hurt my little girl in any way and they'll never find your body."

Hermione pulled Luna into their group, "Mum, Dad, this is Luna Lovegood; she'll be joining us in Nantes on Boxing Day. Is that okay? I didn't get a return message from the owl."

"We're glad to have you both, ready dear?"

Harry gave Hermione a chaste kiss on the cheek, and said, "Be safe, Hermione, I miss you already."

"Oh you can give her a proper kiss, Harry, don't worry, I'll keep Franklin at bay."

The two teens smiled and enjoyed a proper goodbye kiss, much to the delight of Hermione's mum.

As they walked away Harry watched them and sighed heavily.

"I miss her too," Luna said, "but it's only four days."

"I love her so much, y'know? It's like watching a part of me walk away."

Luna became unfocused and, in her dreamy, mathemagical voice, said, "We are standing on this very platform, and our youngest daughter, whom we will name Diana, by the way, is getting on the train. We're smiling even as our hearts are breaking, because it feels like a large part of us is walking away.

"Now we're in a muggle church, and the Reverend is asking 'Who gives this woman to be wedded to this man?' and you step up and say, 'I and her mother.' And your heart is breaking even as you are filled with joy at the happiness she has found this day."

Harry gathered Luna in a tight embrace and said, "You're one of a kind, Luna, I love you so much."

Luna sighed, reveling in the warmth and comfort of Harry's arms.

"So, is your dad going to meet us?" he asked.

Luna smiled and said, "Did I fail to mention that Daddy is on a fact-finding mission to Rio de Janeiro and won't be back until February?"

"So we'll have your home all to ourselves for four days?"

Luna smiled and nodded, adding, "And four nights!"

The happy two-thirds of the thruple practically skipped off to Diagon Alley, where they would find a floo to Xeno's Tower.

Author's note:

I feel sorry for Jo KR's Lavender Brown. She may be legally blonde, but Lavender is completely in love with Ron who basically uses her and then dumps her. I know, I know, it happens all the time, but in this story I'm giving the girl a break.


	5. Chapter 5: Yule in Ottery St Catchpole

Chapter 5 – Yuletide in Ottery St. Catchpole

Harry and Luna shrank their trunks so that each was about the size of a pack of cards, secreted their wands in forearm holsters, and then walked, hand in hand, out of Kings Cross heading for the Alley.

Turning left onto Pancras Road, Harry smiled. Marks and Spencer was right there, and for the first time in his life he had loved ones to buy prezzies for and the money to make it happen.

He led Luna into her first department store.

"Harry, it's so, so…"

"Big?"

She nodded, "And bright and loud and," a customer begged pardon as she squeezed by with bags full of purchases, "crowded!"

"Luna, you do know muggles outnumber us about a thousand to one, don't you?"

They were offered samples of perfumes, holiday snacks of every description, ribbon candy, toffees of every description, Belgian chocolates, shortbreads and Nutella.

Luna's expression went dreamy and Harry thought, "Uh, oh."

"So much bounty, so many things to buy and no one selling is in any way involved in the process of making the goods."

"Yeah, that pretty well sums up a department store." Harry agreed.

"These trainers," she says, picking up a pair of something with a swoosh on the side, "Who made them, where is the shoemaker?"

"I dunno, Luna, the label says _Product of Viet Nam."_

"And who is Viet Nam? I've never heard of him, is his workshop near here?"

"Viet Nam is a country, Luna, on the other side of the world."

"So where is the love?"

"I don't follow you."

"Try to understand, Harry. A baker bakes bread or biscuits with his own hands, he loves what he does and it comes through in the baked goods."

"Okay."

"These shoes are made by people who don't know _who_ will buy and wear them."

She placed the trainers back on the table and said, "Please, take me home, Harry."

He nodded and led her back into the city where they quickly found their way to Diagon Alley.

In London's magical quarter the yuletide was in full swing. All the shops sparkled with fairy lights, and the streets of Diagon Alley had been transfigured into an open air market where vendors offered trinkets, scarves and shawls, alongside hot chestnuts, oranges and cider.

A rosy cheeked cherub of a man wrapped in a muffler stood in front of his stall, which proudly claimed to be, _Johnny's Best Cider._

"You two young loves are in need of a drop of holiday cheer, whot? Why not try some cider with a bit o' kick, eh mate, eh miss?" the cider man asked with a wink.

Luna asked the vendor, "How do you make your cider, sir?"

"Just Johnny, miss, like the feller with the apple seeds. I'm glad you asked me that, miss. Me ol granddad, he's got this orchard, ten miles north o' Devon, down south. An he tells me when the apples is nigh on ripe. Then we picks through the bushels, pulls out any too green or too far gone, and vat only the best. Them we lets ripen up for five days.

"Then we put the pick o' the apples in the water-wheel scratcher and the East Lyn makes pommy outta them. Then we resets the water wheel as a pack press and the cider comes outta that."

Harry was surprised, "You don't use magic?"

Johnny, the cider vendor, looked scandalized, "Never, mate! Here, try this."

Johnny picked a fresh apple from a bushel basket, dropped the fruit in a tumbler and pointed his wand at it. A second later he was holding a glass, half full of magically squeezed apple juice.

He handed it to Harry, who sipped it and shrugged, "Not bad."

Then the vendor un-corked a jug of _Johnny's Best_ and poured Harry another sample.

"Now, try this one, mate!"

One sip and Harry grinned broadly, "This is brilliant!"

The vendor lowered his voice and said, "Me granddad, he's a muggle, see. He don't know from magic. He don't even know he's got wizards in his family, but _he knows apples."_

"Do you deliver?" Harry asked.

"Any time, anywhere, mate." Johnny produced a pad and pencil, an _ordinary_ pencil, "Just need the address and I'll have as many jugs o' Yuletide cheer as the lord of the manor kin stand."

Harry gave Johnny Hermione's parent's address, as well as the Burrow, and Xeno's tower, the Longbottom estates and a jug each to his favorite professors care of Hogwarts.

"Home for the hols then mister…"

"Potter, Harry Potter."

The man was gob-smacked, "No, are you really?"

Harry hated his fame but he grinned at Johnny and lifted the fringe off his forehead, revealing the famous scar.

"How much?"

"Tosh, not a knut, mate!"

"Johnny, you've got to make a living, here, he insisted, handing over a handful of galleons."

"And if you think it'll help," he added, "You tell your customers that Harry Potter thinks _Johnny's Best_ is brilliant!"

The vendor sat down and looked around at his small stall.

"Cor, I'm gonna need a bigger stall." Then he smiled up at Harry, "an a _lot_ more apples!"

They all shared a laugh and a glass of the _Bit o' Kick_ to seal Harry's first product endorsement.

Walking away from the street market Harry smiled.

"I get it, Luna. Johnny makes cider because it's in his blood, his family has squeezed apples for generations, it's what he knows and loves, and it comes out in every sip."

"Find what you love to do, do it, and you'll never work a day in your life." Luna said, hugging his arm.

"I love you, Luna."

"Yes, but can you do _me_ for a living?" she said with a saucy grin.

"Hmmmmmm, living on love…"

"Come on, Harry, let's find a floo."

)O(

They arrived at Xeno's Tower in a tangle of limbs and fireplace ash. Harry had egg on his face and in his hair.

"Okay, Harry, next time we'll go through one at a time."

"And leave the eggs behind." He groused.

"It seemed like such a good idea."

Tom, the barman at the Leaky Cauldron, had overheard Harry complaining about floo travel, how he always wound up arse over teakettle whenever he traveled that way.

"Here," the barman had said, "hold this in the palm of your hand, concentrate on keeping the egg safe, and you won't even know you've arrived. Go on, try it."

"He might have mentioned that it's a bad idea for two people to go through at the same time." Harry said.

"Well, there was a scrum forming and we were taking up their time."

"I could do with a shower."

"Up the stair, first floor."

"Which door."

"No door, the first floor _is_ the bathroom, water closet and shower."

"The whole floor?"

Luna smiled and nodded.

"And the guest room?"

"Ground floor. We have a fold-out daybed."

"Wait, isn't the ground floor the same as the first floor?"

"No, think, first floor up and that makes this the ground floor.

"Is there a basement?"

Luna smiles, "That's the first floor down."

"Is there a second floor down?"

"We're not quite sure." Luna said, matter of factly.

"How can you not be sure, isn't this your home?"

"Oh yes, but no one has opened _that_ door in the first floor down in four generations. Who knows _what_ might be _below_ down there?"

"I'll just head up to the first floor then."

"Here, Harry, let me have your trunk and I'll set out some clothes for you."

Harry reached into his jeans pocket and handed over his miniature trunk.

"Thanks, love."

She smiled at the spontaneous endearment.

Harry climbed the stair and found that the first floor up was indeed the bathroom. The whole floor was done in white tile, floor to ceiling, with six sinks lining one part of the circular wall and four cubicles along another. An odd looking shower "tree" stood in the center of the round room, with half a dozen nozzles all pointing away from each other. Equidistant between the cubicles and the sinks was a huge, kidney-shaped tub, large enough for five or six people. All around the tub were faucets similar to the one's he'd seen in the prefect's bathroom back at Hogwarts.

Harry called down, "I think I'll have a bath, fancy a soak?"

Luna smiled; she'd already known he'd want to enjoy the great communal tub, and was climbing the stair when he'd called down. She stood on the top step, admiring her boyfriend's bare backside.

Some of the faucets had scented water, and some had bubbles. Harry turned them all on so that the tub filled quickly. He groaned sinking into the hot, sudsy welcoming water.

"Care for some company?"

Harry looked through half-lidded eyes at a slightly out of focus Luna.

"Love some."

Luna quickly stripped and stepped into the water.

"Oh, Harry, this is just how I like my water, just shy of boil-a-lobster."

Harry nodded in agreement, "I learned to appreciate the qualities of a hot bath the first time I ever played Quidditch, I remember hurting in places I didn't know I had."

Luna slid over to where Harry was luxuriating and handed him his glasses.

"You can't see my breasts if you can't see." She said, smiling. "I've charmed them so they won't fog either."

"What, your breasts?"

"No, silly. Your glasses, as if!"

He put them on and smiled. Luna's small breasts, half-concealed by bubbles and buoyed as they were by the water were pointing straight away from her body.

Harry felt himself reacting as any teenage boy would who found himself in the company of a beautiful, naked girl.

He drew her close for a kiss and she straddled his hips, much the same way Hermione had in the luggage compartment on the Yule Express, only this time there was no pesky underwear between them.

They both groaned as she pushed against him.

"Oh, Luna – I, uh, Luna?"

"Yes Harry?"

"I don't remember the bubbles being pink."

"What?"

She looked down, then parted the layer of bubbles with her hands and groaned.

A reddish-pink cloud was drifting up from her nether regions.

"Oh…Shite!" she groused, "Of all the lousy, bugger-all times, I have to have my period _now?"_

Harry sighed, "Oh well, I guess it happens."

"I'm sorry, Harry. I know you wanted to sleep with me tonight."

"I still want to sleep with you tonight, Luna love. We can do just that, sleep, and see how we like it."

"But doesn't this," she pointed to the spreading stain in the water, "doesn't this disgust you?"

"Not really, I know that it's just natures way of saying you're a woman, and I already knew that. Besides, think of how awkward it would have been if you'd started on the train."

Luna scrunched her nose at the image. "I need to take care of – this – you go ahead and take a shower and I'll meet you in my room, one flight up, the door to the left at the head of the stair.

Harry stepped out of the tub, the padded over to the shower where he rinsed off the bubbles, some of which were pinker than others, then shampooed his hair.

Wrapped in a soft, white towel he climbed to the nest floor and knocked twice on Luna's door.

"Come in, silly. You don't need to knock."

Luna's room was softly lit with inexhaustible candles; Harry could just make out a few details by the flickering light. There was a night stand on either side of her full-sized bed and his re-enlarged trunk snuggled next to hers at the foot of the bed.

Luna sat up, propped up on two pillows. She wore a simple pair of black knickers.

"I'm wearing a pad."

"I don't know what that means." Harry admitted.

"It's a thin pad in my knickers that vanishes blood and other stuff that I'll be leaking for the next three days or so."

"Oh," he said, nodding in understanding, "thank you for explaining it to me; it's not something my relatives would ever have told me about."

"The worst part is the cramps. They usually hit me the day after I start."

Harry opened his trunk, removed a pair of plain white boxers and slipped them on under the towel.

"You can forego the boxers if you want to, Harry."

"I'm already going to have, um, problems just sleeping with you as I am, if I were starkers it would be like trying to sleep with a flagpole."

Harry joined Luna in bed, covering them with a sheet and duvet.

"Chilly tonight." Luna said.

"Good excuse to cuddle then, isn't it?"

They settled down into her comforting bed and were soon asleep.

Luna woke with a groan, there was no light coming in from her window so she knew it was still the middle of the night.

"Ungh!"

"Luna?"

"Sorry, Harry. Cramps, oh shite!"

She lay on her side, her back to Harry, and whimpered piteously. He spooned up behind and wrapped his arms around her.

"I wish I could make the pain go away." He said, sympathetically.

"Thanks, I wish you could too."

Harry reached down and gently caressed her lower belly, murmuring words of comfort.

Magic has less to do with incantations, wand waving, and rituals than it does intent. Harry's intent, at this point in time, was to make the girl he loves feel better, to take away her pain.

In a very few moments, a much relieved Luna Lovegood was blissfully asleep.

Morning came and Luna dreaded the thought of getting up. The first morning of her monthlies usually hit her like a punch in the gut.

_Harry's here with me, that's a comfort. Wait! Harry's with me, in my bed. His arms are around me. Oh, this is nice. I can definitely get used to this. _

_Oh Goddess, I know I should rejoice that my cycle mirrors that of Your Blessed Moon, but did you have to remind me of that now?_

_Are you sitting to breakfast with God and having a laugh at poor Luna's expense?_

_Ah well, I can see this will bind us closer together, Hermione as well, because the first time Harry ploughs our fields we'll all be together, blessed, blessed be._

Luna groaned at the thought of getting up to go to the loo.

"Luna?"

"Sorry, Harry. Did I keep you awake much?"

"No, not at all. I've never slept so well."

"Wait a moment, neither have I, not when I'm having my monthlies."

She tentatively sat up, and then slid out from under the warm covers to stand by the bed.

"No cramps!" she said, her normally wide eyes even wider in wonder and delight, "In fact, no pain at all."

"Well, that's good, innit?"

Luna looked down at the smiling, sleep tussled face of her wizard, "Oh, you have no idea. Time to be up and dressed. We have to go into Ottery St. Catchpole this morning."

"How about a morning kiss?"

"Gladly, Harry, just as soon as we've both brushed out teeth – the Rotfangs, who hate morning kisses, have been sabotaging our breath in the night and the only way to defeat them is to brush in the morning and after every meal."

Luna pulled Harry from the bed and together they went down to the bathroom to battle the Rotfang Conspiracy.

As soon as they'd rinsed the young couple came together for their first kiss of the day. Luna couldn't help but feel Harry's 'morning wood' pressing against her.

"Down boy!" Harry said, looking down at his tented boxers.

"We may not be able to couple, yet. But I have fingers and a mouth and a tongue, and I would like to try calm 'Little Harry' down, if I may."

"Little Harry?"

"Well," she said, giving him a squeeze, "maybe not _little._ How about 'Harry Junior'?"

"I would never name a child of mine Junior, let alone my block-and-tackle."

"How about 'Darling Harry'?"

"Too effete."

"I know, 'Prince Harry'?"

"We'll think about it."

"Well, think about it as we tend to the not-so-little prince." She said as she quite literally led Harry from the bathroom by his yet-to-be-named member.

Laying Harry back in bed, Luna peeled off his boxers and studied the springy specimen before her. "Hello, Not-so-little-Prince, I think I'll call you 'My Prince', after all, I know, someday My Prince will cum."

Harry groaned.

She pulled back with an audible 'pop' and said, "Tell me if I'm doing it right, I've never tried before."

Harry just barely managed a coherent, "Feels right to me!" before he groaned as Luna engulfed him in her mouth.

It may have been inexpert, but what Luna lacked in skill she more than made up for in enthusiasm. She crammed as much of Harry's member in her mouth as she could while simultaneously grasping its lower half.

"Lu-Luna, I – I'm gonna, I'm gonna."

Harry groaned.

_Not horrible, but not something I'd spread on a crisp. The most important thing is, Harry is satisfied._

Her wizard, in fact, was stroking her hair watching her with adoring eyes.

"Thank you, Luna; no one has ever done that for me before."

"Was I alright then?"

"You were perfect!" he said, drawing her up for a kiss, not caring if he tasted himself on her in the process.

She waved her wand to clean his abdomen and the surrounding duvet, "Time to be dressed and off, Mister Potter."

Ottery St. Catchpole has a mixed muggle and magical community. Many of the residents are magical, with non-magical relatives. The muggles tend to ignore the occasional magical manifestation, reveling in their uniqueness.

Luna led Harry into the pub, which happened to be serving a proper English breakfast at the time, bangers and beans on toast with eggs cooked to order, coffee and tea. Harry got two orders and found a table near a window, Luna, surprisingly, went to the phone at the bar.

She paid for a call to Kensington.

"Hello, Granger Residence."

"Hello, Hermione, it's Luna."

"Luna! Is Harry with you, did you, _you know_ last night?"

"No, we didn't, we decided to wait until you can join us."

"You're joking, tell me you're joking, you have him all to yourself!"

"Oh alright, we didn't because I started my period last night. In the tub. While Harry was with me!"

"No."

"Yes. It looked like a bloody shark attack on the telly."

"That is amazing."

"Annoying, more like."

"No. Amazing, because I started my period last night too."

Luna's smile came through the phone line, "Then we'll both be over and done with it when we get together on Boxing Day?"

"Yes, yes, YES!"

"We did sleep together, just sleep, but he cuddled me the whole night long."

There was a heavy sigh from Hermione's end, "Lucky bint!"

"Oh, you don't know the half of it, Hermione. Tell me, do you get cramps?"

"Sometimes, not often, but when I do it's bloody awful."

"Well I get them every month, without fail, and it _is_ bloody awful. But when Harry wrapped his arms around me last night, something happened, and my cramps, which started off unpleasant, as usual, just went away. It's like the pain and cramps just _evaporated."_

There was a pregnant pause on Hermione's end. "Lets. Just. Keep that little bit to ourselves, shall we?"

Luna smiled, "You just don't want half the female students at Hogwarts after our wizard."

"Are you kidding? Remember half the female _professors_ are of child bearing age."

)O(

Christmas morning at the burrow was a raucous, messy affair with brightly colored paper littering the living room floor. Mr. Weasley was speechless at the gift of a set of socket wrenches, Mrs. Weasley received a trunk full of knitting patterns and enough yarn to keep the whole family in jumpers for years to come.

Luna handed Ron Lavender's presents. He opened the small box first and whistled as he saw the bracelet.

"This is amazing, it's like the one I…"

"Ahem!" Ginny interrupted.

"I mean, Ginny and I, got Lav for Christmas, only hers is nice and girly."

He opened the envelope and nearly fell out of his chair.

Harry asked, "What is it, mate?"

"Chud, chud, chud…"

Luna filled in the rest, "Season's tickets to the Chudley Cannon's home games, permanent season's tickets. Right in front of the goal hoops."

"Chud, chud, chud…"

Harry smiled, "Good on you, mate. Looks like Lavender's got you down."

As they sat to dinner the wayward Weasley, Percy, knocked on the door, in the company of Rufus Scrimgeour, Minister of Magic.

When Scrimgeour singled Harry out for 'directions' Luna accompanied them.

"I'm sorry Miss, but I only need Harry."

"I'm sorry Minister, but I need him more."

"Please go inside, girl, and don't be rude."

Harry was one degree short of a boil when Luna said, "If I go inside, Harry will reject, out of hand, anything you might suggest. You came here specifically to see Harry. You've already lied to him once, and we all know it. Your premise for visiting the Weasley's is thin at best. You need Harry far more than he needs you, Minister. Show us that you are worthy of our trust, and we'll try to support you, or," and Luna took Harry's hand, "we'll just be on our way."

"I – I understand, Harry, that you are interested in becoming an auror…"

"I'm sorry, Minister, but Harry will not respond to implied favors; simply tell him what you want him to do."

"I, uh, I need you to endorse my administration."

"Will you grant three simple requests?" Luna asked.

"Depends on the requests, Miss."

"First, legitimize Potter's Commandos, let them have the same status as the Order of the Phoenix, a ministry sanctioned paramilitary organization.

"Second, lower the legal age for the use of magic outside of the school, seventeen is an arbitrary number at best, and you need trained witches and wizards sooner rather than later, Harry was _thirteen_ when he cast his first corporeal _patronus_.

"Third and last, give Potter's Commandos full access to the Department of Mysteries, and all the help the DMLE can offer when we need them."

Scrimgeour scratched his chin, "Seems reasonable, what do I get?"

"You get me." Harry said; finally glad of the chance to speak for himself, "I'll be your bloody poster boy as long as I'm in Britain if you do this for us, and one more small favor."

"What's that, Mr. Potter?"

"You can use legilimancy to check for the imperious curse, right?"

The Minister nodded.

"Check Stan Shunpike, if he really is a death eater, I would like to know, if he isn't, let him go – with an official apology."

Scrimgeour's face darkened, "I can't do that. My administration would look weak."

Luna said, "No, Minister, you've got it exactly wrong, publicly admitting a mistake is not weakness, in fact it shows real strength of character. Besides, think of the political capital you'll gain with Harry Potter supporting your decision to right an injustice."

Scrimgeour looked first at Harry, then Luna, then back to Harry and said, "Done! I'll have the documents drawn up by noon tomorrow; you can come by my office in the ministry and sign them, Captain Potter."

Luna pulled a rolled parchment from her sleeve, "I've taken the liberty, Minister."

Rufus checked the document, written in very impressive wizarding leagalese, and asked, "Who drafted this document?"

Luna smiled, "I did, last week, Minister. I believe you'll find it in order. Just sign by your name, Harry will do the same, and duplicates will appear in your office, and the office of the head of the DMLE, including the Department of Mysteries as well as the Office for the Use of Underage Magic."

"Are you a seer, Miss?"

Harry smiled and gave his love a one armed hug, "She's better than that, minister, she's a _mathmagician!"_

That evening Harry and Luna retired to her room in Xeno's Tower.

"Happy Christmas, Harry, I love you."

"I love you too, Luna, happy Christmas to you too."

"Are you sure you want to wait until tomorrow," she cooed into his ear, "I'm fully functional now, my monthlies are over."

"I think it's important that we're all together for our, ah, consummation. I guess that makes me a daft git, eh?"

"Not at all Harry, but I have to say you're showing an inordinate amount of self-control."

"Well, I was going to ask if you'd do for me what Hermione did on the train, remember."

"Oh, you mean, this?"

She rolled on top of him, straddling his hips, trapping his erection beneath the cleft of her vulva.

As Harry reached out to grab her hips he found she was sans knickers.

"Um, Luna, you're naked, completely starkers."

"Uh huh." she agreed, and then lifted one leg off to pull Harry's boxers down to his knees before again, pressing her bare wet sex against his.

"Con – contra – _contraceptive_ charm?" Harry managed to gasp.

Luna leaned forward to whisper in his ear, "I'm on the potion, love, just relax, better yet, let go!"

She slid back and forth, up and down, slowly at first, until they were both well lubricated.

"Oh. My. Gawd!" he exclaimed.

Luna's motions became harder and more urgent and Harry silently prayed to whatever gods or goddesses were listening that she would finish first.

"Aaaaarrrrrggggghhhhhhh!"

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

"Oh my, you must have been saving that for a while, love." She said, breathlessly.

He panted and nodded, "three days."

She picked up her wand from the nightstand and used it to clean herself and Harry, as well as the surrounding bedspread.

"Well, let's save ourselves for Hermione. We'll see her on Boxing Day tomorrow."

)O(


	6. Chapter 6: Yuletide in Nantes

Chapter 6 – Yuletide in Nantes

Luna and Harry joined the Weasleys for Boxing Day brekkers, and to wait for Hermione to floo through. At eight o'clock, on the nose, she skipped out of the fireplace and made a beeline for Harry and Luna, her Hermionesque hug one for the record books.

"Harry thank you so much for the books and for the locket, I love it."

The tripartite locket had four small frames, three of which held small wizarding portraits of Harry, Hermione and Luna. Luna held hers up as well.

"Luna picked them out, I'm glad you like yours. What will we put in the fourth frame?" Harry asked.

"Teebid." Luna answered, while not answering.

"Teebid?" Harry asked.

"To Be Determined," Hermione explained, "the initials T, B, and D."

"Ah!" Harry exclaimed, only partially understanding.

Breakfast was the normal Weasley affair, controlled chaos. Ron begged permission to floo Lavender so that he could thank her properly.

Ginny had a similar request for Dean.

Harry, Luna and Hermione excused themselves, explaining they needed to gather a few things to take to Nantes and Hermione's family.

The thruple practically ran to the Lovegood home.

As soon as they passed the threshold Hermione pounced on Harry, knocking him back onto the couch, kissing him as though she was trying to make up for four days of missed kisses in one sitting.

"God I've missed you!" she panted through lips swollen from their Olympian snog.

"I've missed you too, Hermione."

"Liar!" she teased, "You've had Luna here all week."

"Yes," Luna said, dreamily, "but he's been saving himself for you."

Hermione looked at Harry and then Luna, "You have got to be kidding me!"

"No, I had him naked in my bed last night, and he still wanted to wait until you were here."

"Why?" Hermione asked, agog.

Harry sat up on the couch, where Hermione had kept him pinned down, and said, "Because I love you."

Tears welled up in her eyes, "But what about Luna?"

Harry turned to Luna, "I love you, too."

He pulled both girls to him in a tight embrace, "I love both of you so much I think, sometimes, I'll explode.

"Hermione, you were my first real friend, and have been my best friend for six years now. I didn't realize how much I loved you until Luna pointed out the obvious."

He looked at Luna and smiled, saying, "You even used small words so that I could understand.

"Wonderful things have been happening to me, to _us_, this year. And everything can be traced back to you, Luna Lovegood."

Luna smiled shyly, "I just couldn't stand back and watch the train-wreck that was about to happen when I knew I could prevent it."

"What would have happened, Luna?" Hermione asked.

"Remember, sister dear, don't ask a question if you don't really want an answer."

Hermione opened her mouth as if to say something, then thought better of it.

"No, on second thought, don't tell me. Just help me get this wizard of ours ready for us."

"Harry, Hermione, hold me. Hold me tight!"

They did, then all three felt the unpleasant sensation of being forced through a tight tube. When they could see again they were on Luna's bed.

"You can apparate!" Hermione squealed, impressed.

"Daddy helped me; we can all learn to now, the Minister of Magic agreed to our conditions."

Hermione smirked, "Of course he did - we _said_ he would."

"Hermione, don't you think he's over-dressed."

Hermione pulled his jumper over his head, then went to work on his shirt buttons, kissing each bit of skin she'd uncovered with each open button.

As Hermione worked his shirt, Luna unbuttoned and unzipped his trousers. There was a bit of awkwardness as she tried to remove his trousers and boxers without first removing his shoes, but he helped by kicking them off so that she could denude him from the waist down.

Harry helped Hermione out of her blouse and bra; she stepped off the bed to divest herself of her shoes, and jeans leaving her knickers in place. Then he turned his attentions to Luna, who had foregone her bra, making his task much easier, and faster. She chose to mimic her sister-in-love and left her knickers on as well.

Three teens, trembling with anticipation, lay on the full-sized bed.

The two girls ran their hands over Harry's torso, each taking turns squeezing and stroking him.

Hermione, for her part, seemed to have found her new favorite toy as she fondled Harry's 'block and tackle'.

"Is he abnormally large?" Luna asked, leaning on one elbow.

"Hmmmm," Hermione seemed to consider, while propped up on her elbow on Harry's other side, "from what I've read, I'd say Harry's penis is appropriately proportional to the rest of his body."

"So it's not overly large?" Luna persisted.

"Oi! I'm right here!" Harry groused.

"Shush, you!" Luna admonished, "This is girl talk. We usually don't have a working model for show-and-tell when we're discussing our wizards."

"No, not overly large, but not small by any means either." The two witches locked eyes over Harry's fleshy obelisk.

"You've known him longer." Luna said.

"It's your house." Hermione countered.

"May I say something?" Harry asked.

"Yes." The girls said in unison.

He sat up and drew them into a tender embrace, kissed Hermione, then Luna and said, "Lie back, both of you."

They did and Harry hooked his fingers into the waistband of Hermione's only garment and asked permission with his eyes – to which she nodded.

He pulled the peach colored French cut knickers down and off her legs before moving to Luna, who was already obligingly lifting her bum so that Harry could pull her simple white cotton pants down and off as well.

He parted both their legs slightly, and marveled at the differences as well as the similarities between the two witches.

Both had fine pubic hair. Both blushed and glistened in anticipation.

Harry prayed to whatever gods were listening that he would be able to be whatever his witches wanted him to be, for as long as they wanted him – which he hoped would be forever.

He crouched down on his elbows and knees; one each between Hermione's parted legs on his right and Luna's on his left. He kissed Hermione's lower lips with the same passion and intensity that he'd shown when kissing her mouth, his tongue seeking entrance. The manner in which she bucked her hips gave him a clue as to whether or not he was doing it right. Hermione, ever the perfectionist, guided him.

"Use your fingers, Harry, there oh yes, deeper, yes, that's the spot, no – not there, left . . . no, _m-my_ left – ahhhhhh yessssss! Right there! Right there! Jee-eh-zus _Keyrrryyyyyyyyyyst! Yes!"_

As she settled bonelessly back into the cushions, Luna smirked, "Bossy, ain't she?"

Harry bent down to kiss her tenderly, which made her mew in pleasure, "Yes she is. And we wouldn't have her any other way."

Luna laid back and said, "Next!"

Before long her keening wail announced to the world that Harry had indeed succeeded, he'd pleased both his witches and he hadn't even penetrated them – yet.

Yet being the operative word.

He wormed his way between his witches, who had gravitated together as he was bringing them off with his fingers, lips and tongue.

He lay on his back, one hand cupping Hermione's sex, the other covering Luna's.

Luna chuckled, "Blessed Brigid, thank you for the stamina of a teen-aged man."

Hermione and Luna shared a look, nodded and then each pounded their fists into their palms once, twice, and on the third time Luna kept her fist clenched and Hermione opened her hand, flat.

"Paper covers rock." She said.

Luna kissed Harry's cheek, "Hermione gets you first, but I bet I'll get you longer."

Harry nodded and turned to his best friend and lover.

"May I have my wand, please, Hermione? It's on the nightstand behind you."

She gave it to him and he performed the prophylaxis charm.

Hermione loved him even more for the simple fact that he was taking responsibility for not letting her get in a family way.

He positioned himself between her legs, and reached down to grasp his iron-wood erection. He nudged her opening with the bulbous head and, feeling her hot and wet and ready, eased in.

Hermione moaned as she felt herself penetrated for the first time, he was so gentle, sliding in and out, in and out, slightly deeper with each stroke until finally she could feel his pelvic bone pressing hers.

"Oh Gawd, Harry, you feel wonderful!"

He had to agree, he felt absolutely wonderful, at peace, at home deep within Hermione's welcoming sex.

_Isn't there supposed to be a barrier of some kind,_ he thought, and frowned slightly.

Luna whispered in his ear, "Hermione has been riding a broom for six years, Harry. She's ridden a hippogriff and a thestral as well. And witches don't ride side-saddle."

And Harry understood. His girls were virgins, in fact, but had lost their hymens to common wizarding world practices years before.

They were soon beyond speech as they danced the intimate dance of the ages.

As Harry stroked, Luna counted off, "One two three, two two three, three two three…"

They were in the mid three-hundreds when Harry pushed in as deep as he could, and froze.

"_Hermione!_ Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!"

She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled herself tight.

"Oh, God! _Harrrrrryyyyyyyyy!" _

Hermione fell back onto the bed, limp as a rope.

As he pulled out of her she mewed in protest. His kissed her tenderly and then positioned himself, still hard, over Luna's widespread legs.

She guided him in and let him go as slow or as fast as he wanted, he started the deep-thrusting motions almost immediately, sensing, correctly that it was what Luna wanted.

"_Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!" _

He rolled over on his back, taking Luna with him.

"I love you, Luna Lovegood."

"I love you, Harry Potter."

"I love you, both." Hermione murmured, obviously exhausted in the best possible way.

Harry pulled the cover over himself and both his witches and thought, "It definitely doesn't suck to be me today."

After an hour's nap Hermione said, "Sorry to wake you both, but we have to get up and dressed. My family is expecting us in Nantes."

Harry and Luna were a sticky mess, and not minding it a bit. Hermione was less so, but still the trio decided a quick shower was in order. It was, unfortunately a quick shower as the thruple needed to be on their way.

)O(

Harry, Hermione and Luna arrived at Chateau Bertrand in an ordinary taxi, having come by way of the international and then the local floo network as far as they could.

Helen Granger stood next to a woman who looked to be in her mid forties, Harry couldn't help but compare Hermione to her mum, and then to her grandmum and had to admit that the women in her family aged gracefully. Helen could easily pass for Hermione's older sister, and the matriarch of the family could easily be mistaken for their _tante_, their youthful aunt.

"Harry, Luna, this is my grand-mere, Leda Bertrand. Grammere, may I present Harry Potter and Luna Lovegood, my very best friends."

Luna took the Matriarch's hand and curtseyed, saying, "Madame."

"_Je suis honoré, Madame."_ Harry said, brushing Leda's knuckles with his lips.

"Oh, how gallant, monsieur, at last, I finally get to meet Hermione's beau." Leda grinned as she led the group into the parlor where tea awaited them. "I hope you don't mind my saying this, but she has painted a very flattering picture of you. You have quite the reputation to live up to."

With typical Gallic aplomb, Madame Bertrand poured.

Harry groaned, "Unfounded rumors, I assure you Madame, Hermione sees me through, how do you say it, rose colored glasses?"

"_Vie en rose._ Well, first impressions and all that. My son-in-law did not ask where I keep my shotguns when he heard you were coming and my daughter has mentioned more than once that the terrace overlooking the vineyard is large enough for a reception." Leda said, with a twinkle that would put Dumbledore's to shame.

Harry refused to rise to the bait, "We'll keep that in mind, perhaps in four or five years?"

"I have not forgotten what it was like to be so young, and in love. All I ask is that you use good judgment in your liaisons and try not to make me the _arriere-grand-mere_ too soon."

"Mother!"

"Oh come off it Helen, did you even wait until you were sixteen?"

Helen Granger blushed, glad that Franklin was away from the house, "Well, it _was_ the seventies…"

"And fifteen is legal in France, _non?"_ Leda said with a smirk.

Leda turned to a smiling Luna, who was studying the portraits and photos all around the room.

"And this young woman is not embarrassed at all, in fact," the matron smiled a most understanding smile, "she is the axis about which these two rotate, _non?"_

Luna's gaze seemed to go slightly out of focus, "Madame, the children of your daughter's daughter will know you and be blessed."

Harry smiled, nodding at Luna and said, "If Luna says it, you can pretty well take it to the bank, Madame."

"Are these your parents?" Luna asked, indicating a faded photograph.

"Yes, Andre and Collette Dubois."

"Did you know your mother was a witch, Madame Bertrand?"

At this, Leda had to sit down, "What?"

"Hermione's matriarchal line 'breeds true', that is to say, Mrs. Granger bears a strong resemblance to you, Hermione favors you both," Luna tapped the photo frame, "These people loved you, I can see it in their eyes, but they are not your true parents."

"Why are you saying this?"

Hermione interrupted, "Please, Grammere, listen to her, she does not make these pronouncements lightly, there must be a reason."

Then the youngest Granger nodded for Luna to continue.

Lena sat up, "Surely you can't divine this from a few old photos, what else tells you my family is _magie?"_

"Your apparent youth, Madame, and the fact that two generations ago it was a common practice to remove non-magical children from mage families."

"But…_ma mere_, she was no… _sorciere."_

"Madame Dubois was no witch, but your mother, your true mother, must have been."

"I-I know of Hermione, of course and of the _statut du secret_ that keeps me from talking about her gifts to non-magic or non-family members. But I assumed the _magie_ came from her father's side of the family."

Luna shook her head, "No, most of the time, the power comes through the mother's side of the family; in fact, the aspect that causes a magical mother to have a non-magical child is always inherited from the father."

Hermione sat straight up, "You mean to say, there is a _gene_ for magic?"

"If by that you mean a part of us that is responsible for inherited characteristics, then yes." Luna acknowledged.

Hermione sat heavily back into her chair as Luna revealed yet another completely new and unexpected concept, one that could very well change the course of the magical world forever. She whispered, almost afraid to say it too loud, "If that gene could be identified, isolated…"

"Luna?" Madame Bertrand asked, "Why did you tell me this?"

"To let you know, Madame, that you will live a long and healthy life, and need not worry about not seeing your great grandchildren grow to be happy, healthy, productive citizens, in fact you will dance at their weddings."

Lena smiled a contented little smile, "Some of those great grands will be yours, will they not?"

Luna grinned and nodded.

Now it was Helen's turn to ask, "What?"

"Don't you see, _ma fille?_ They are in a house of three, a true _menage a trios."_

Harry and Hermione both went beet red at the observation, Luna simply smiled and said, "Relax, my loves, Madame Leda is on our side, and will be our strongest supporter, followed soon by Mrs. Granger."

Helen smirked, "And what does your crystal ball, or whatever, tell you about Franklin?"

Luna frowned, "I see a few problems there, not at all related to our relationship."

All three of the other ladies present looked to Luna in shock.

Luna gave Helen a significant glance.

Hermione's mum sighed and asked, "_Ma mere_, where do you keep the brandy, the good stuff."

Leda stood and walked to the sideboard. She pulled a dusty old bottle from a hidden compartment and nodded in the direction of the crystal.

Helen set out five glasses and Leda poured.

With a sigh, Hermione's mum said, "Franklin is having an affair."

Leda huffed, "When _hasn't_ he been having an affair?"

"Mum!"

"Oh come on, Helen, a woman knows."

"Apparently he's drawn to the young, vacuous and beautiful. I don't think he keeps one for long, before moving on to the next one. I finally told him to stay the hell away from me before he passed on something incurable."

She looked at Hermione as a single tear coursed down her cheek, "I'm sorry dear, I never wanted you to know."

Hermione tried to stay calm, but her voice broke when she asked, "Will you be leaving him, mum?"

Lena and Helen shared a look, then Helen said, "That's part of what this 'holiday' is about. Ma mere is offering to help me set up practice in Nantes. My French is passable and I've already qualified to practice dentistry here. We were going to wait until you'd finished you're 'A' levels or whatever the magic equivalent is before we, that is, your grammere and I, were going to tell you."

Harry appeared progressively uneasy. As the only representative of his sex available, it's possible that he was more than a little nervous that the four women would turn on him.

"You are _not_ like Franklin Granger." Luna said, suddenly.

"Wha…"

"You are sitting here, starting to feel nervous and a little guilty because you are in a polyamorous relationship. The difference is you did not vow to be faithful to one of us and then start screwing the other behind our backs. Oh, that sounds like an interesting…"

"Focus, Luna." Hermione chided.

Both girls stood by Harry, and each took a hand, "Ours is an inclusive relationship," Hermione said to her mum and grand-mere, "Since the very beginning we have wanted to share with Harry, and each other, every challenge, every struggle and every triumph."

Helen smiled, "You're right, Hermione, I was feeling a little uneasy about the three of you in a relationship. But you are so, _natural_ together, I only wish…"

"That you were a few years younger?" Luna asked.

Now it was Helen's turn to blush.

"No, not really. I just wish my husband wouldn't spend so much time and money in his own selfish pursuits."

Hermione sighed, "He taught me to ride a bicycle. He taught me to swim. He took me to the zoo, got me my first library card."

"He's not a bad _father,_ sweetheart," Helen agreed, "just not a great husband."

Luna sat with the older women and said, "Just a bit of advice, you know that he knows you know. Have all the legal documents on hand, you already have a place to go. Sit down with him, maybe in a nice restaurant, and tell him why his actions have been, and continue to be, unacceptable. I don't know Franklin Granger, but I do know Hermione, and from what she's told me he won't be unreasonable, well, not too unreasonable."

"If you would like a little backup, Mrs. Granger, um, Helen," Harry said, uneasily, "We three can be in the restaurant as well, at a different table."

The sound of a car crunching up the gravel driveway drew their attention outside.

Leda raised her glass and said, _"A votre santé!" _

They touched glasses and repeated the toast, then sipped the two-hundred year old brandy.

Time to put on their happy faces.

Chateau Bertrand boasted ten suites. At Franklin Granger's insistence Harry got the one above the old carriage house, as far as possible from the comfortable room Hermione and Luna shared.

Of course, no one mentioned silencing charms, notice-me-not charms, locking charms or aversion spells.

Harry's head had barely touched the pillow when he was joined on his left by Hermione and on his right by Luna.

"What took you so long?" Harry snarked.

"We had to say goodnight to the folks and Grammere." Hermione said, with a wink.

"And now we're here to tuck you in." Luna said from the other side.

Of course, the part of him that she had grasped and the manner in which she'd pulled him left no question about which part of him she wanted tucked, and where.

Repeatedly.

Harry groaned as Luna straddled his waist and sheathed his throbbing todger in one smooth, fluid motion.

Hermione kissed him and said, "She might get you first, but I'll bet I get you longer!"

Just before all coherent thought abandoned Harry, he thought, "It _really_ doesn't suck to be me!"


	7. Chapter 7: Back to Hogwarts

Chapter 7 – Back to Hogwarts

The golden trio remained at Chateau Bertrand until the morning of Saturday, the 28th of December. By then the combination of strained smiles and the feeling of impending marital disaster drove the students back to school. As they bid the Grangers and Grammere farewell they felt a great surge of relief.

The taxi driver who took them to _La Poste_ on Place Bretagne may have suspected his passengers were _magie_, but kept his opinions to himself. Luna calculated the fare and added the customary ten-percent tip.

They passed through the charmed door, to the left of the main counter and into the local floo network.

Harry stepped up to the counter and politely requested, "Three for Paris, _sil vous plait." _

Luna placed a hand on his shoulder and said, "No Harry, first we need to go to Beauxbatons."

The _bureau de transport magique_ official looked at Harry with a raised eyebrow.

"What she said."

)O(

It was late afternoon by the time Harry, Hermione and Luna returned to Hogwarts. As they entered the main hall they saw Malfoy, looking pale and wan. Still the miserable Slytherin managed to grace them with a sneer. Harry and Hermione glared back, but Luna looked at Draco with sad eyes, almost as if she were attending a funeral.

Luna's piteous gaze made the Malfoy heir more and more uncomfortable until he fled the hall.

"Dead wizard walking." She said, her voice tinged with sorrow.

Harry knew what Luna meant and nodded solemnly, "It's all about choices, and he chose to become a murdering bastard."

Luna shifted from sad to determined, took her mates by the hand and said, "Time to see the Headmaster."

Arriving at the stone gargoyle Hermione produced a long parchment, "Mr. Gargoyle, this is a list of every candy and confection produced in Great Britain over the past two-hundred years, both magical and ordinary. We can start reading the list or you can assure yourself that we are, indeed, in possession of the password."

The gargoyle blinked, then shook his head and slid out of the way.

"Thank you, Mr. Gargoyle."

"Irving." The stone gutter-spout said.

"Thank you, Irving."

"Don't mention it."

The trio entered the headmaster's office where the resident phoenix trilled a greeting.

Harry stroked his feathers, saying, "Good to see you too, Fawkes. It's been too long."

Dumbledore entered wearing a blindingly fuchsia dressing gown, a lime green sleeping cap and a look of utter bewilderment.

"I left word with Professor McGonagall that I wished to see you as soon as you arrived, but I should have stipulated that it was to be a private meeting. I'm sorry Miss Granger, Miss Lovegood, I do not wish to appear rude, but Harry and I have much to discuss."

"Luna and Hermione need to hear about Riddle's life and times as much as I do. When it comes time for action, they will insist on joining me."

Horrified, Dumbledore asked, "Do you value your friend's lives so little, Harry?"

"On the contrary, Headmaster," Luna interjected, "Harry would much rather we stay safely behind stone walls and impenetrable enchantments, but if he does, the results will be disastrous – the best way to ensure Harry's survival, and ours, is to fight alongside him."

Dumbledore's shoulders sagged, "Well, I am very tired; perhaps we can discuss this further in a few days."

"Sir, I think you'll find this useful." Luna said, handing the headmaster a bottle of caramel-colored liquid.

Dumbledore accepted the bottle with raised eyebrows, "Pepper-up potion?"

"We have a long night ahead of us, Headmaster, you'll probably need this. Oh, and would you have the kitchen staff bring us our evening meal, we can save time by eating here."

"Miss Lovegood…"

"Headmaster, you need to tell us everything you possibly can about Tom Riddle and how this knowledge is supposed to help Harry defeat him, _and live._ If you do not, we have acceptance vouchers from _Academie de Batons de Beau_ and can begin our next term in France in one week. We have also been offered French citizenship, and will not be extradited for anything less than a capitol offense committed on British soil.

"If we leave your office now, it will be to return to France, where we will enjoy the support and the protection of _La Republique Francaise Magique."_

"Sir," Harry added, kindly, "we know that you don't have, well, a lot of time." He pointed to Dumbledore's ruined hand, grown blacker and even more shriveled since the beginning of the holiday, "Luna has the ability to interpolate events with astonishing accuracy, given enough information. Right now we can't afford for you to be miserly with the details. Please, for all our sakes, don't leave _anything_ out."

The next few minutes was a study in interpretive facial expression.

First the Headmaster looked surprised, then angry, then thoughtful, and finally, resigned.

Albus Dumbledore cocked his head to one side and, addressing his familiar, asked, "What do you think, old friend?"

A sharp gaze and a long trill later the headmaster nodded, "Very well, let us begin by reviewing the memories that I have already shared with Harry."

Luna, Harry and Hermione went into the memories, each with their own dicta-quill™, charmed to copy down everything said by the shades of the people in the memories as well as discussions between the flesh-and-blood wizards and witches.

Stepping back from the memory of Riddle's orphanage days Luna had an expression no one in the room had ever seen before, disgust bordering on revulsion.

"You know, of course, that Lord Voldemort is a creature of your own making?"

Dumbledore paled, "I think that's a rather harsh and unfounded pronouncement, Miss Lovegood."

Luna shook her head, "If you had offered young Tom Riddle the sanctuary of Hogwarts all year, he would have become your protégé, and a powerful light-aligned wizard. As it was, he was _forced_ to return to an abusive home where, to survive, he had to become malicious, pitiless, one could say _reptilian." _

"Look at him, he's an attractive boy. The older boys would have wanted to ride him like a bicycle – the reason they didn't, or rather the reason they _stopped_, was because Tom became more vicious then his buggerers."

"You mean, young mister Riddle was sexually abused?"

Luna nodded, "Probably from a very young age, before his powers began to manifest themselves."

She regarded her headmaster with less warmth and considerably less respect than she ever had before, "Dumbledore, abused children often become abusers. You had it in your power to remove him from that awful place, and you didn't. Tom Riddle could easily have been fostered with a magical family – the Pruitt family would have gladly taken him in, and Molly Pruitt would never have lost her twin brothers to the first Voldemort war."

"I know I have made mistakes…"

Harry and Hermione were both amazed by Luna's brusqueness, "Just give us the memory crystals."

"Luna," Harry whispered, "Professor Dumbledore couldn't have seen what Tom Riddle would become."

"You think this is about _Riddle?"_ she asked, aghast, "He's done the same _bloody_ thing to you that he did to Tom!"

Luna whirled on the headmaster, "You _knew_ how Riddle turned out, and yet you have gone out of your way to make sure Harry 'enjoyed' the same kind of abusive environment – what in Hecate's name were you _thinking?"_

"I-I…"

Luna cut him off with a gesture, "Next memory, and keep them coming."

There was young Tom Riddle at Hogwarts.

Then came the corrupted Slughorn memory, but with the all-important introduction to the term _Horcrux._

"What is a Horcrux?" Hermione asked, "I've never seen anything written about them."

Luna narrowed her eyes, "That's because the information has been purged from the Hogwarts libraries. Tell me, Dumbledore, when did you appoint yourself Chief of the Thought Police?"

"I felt the information was too dangerous…"

Luna was just short of livid, "More dangerous than the unforgivables? More dangerous than blood boiling curses? More dangerous than fiend fyre, or the flensing curse? All of these subjects are detailed in the Restricted Section. Now explain, in detail, or we're on the next carriage out of here."

Dumbledore explained the theories of soul splitting and containment, and his reasoning for the 'Tom Riddle, this is Your Life' lessons.

Then came the memories of Tom Riddle and Slytherin's locket, and Hufflepuff's golden goblet.

When Hephzibah Smith revealed Slytherin's locket, Harry and Hermione simultaneously gasped, "I've seen this!"

It was nearly dawn when they finished.

"Is this _all_, Headmaster?"

"Everything pertaining to the Horcruxes and Lord Voldemort, yes."

Luna sighed, sounding more like her normal self, "You are being evasive, _again,_ Headmaster. Just remember, you, along with the rest of Magical Britain, have placed all your hopes on Harry. If you are holding back something, then you doom all of us to the nonexistent mercies of the creature you created."

With slow, deliberate and apparently painful resolve, Albus Dumbledore pulled a ring from his finger and placed it on a copy of _Tales of Beedle the Bard,_ then handed both to Luna. "That, Miss Lovegood, is indeed everything. If your remarkable skills can suss out why these tales are significant, you may find yourself in possession of the greatest power imaginable. I can only hope you will use it responsibly."

Luna all but ran to the Room of Requirement. Her resolve was such that she didn't even have to pace the corridor, the door appeared and opened as if the room had been expecting her.

Harry and Hermione quickly followed.

The room was, once again, a psychiatrist's office and Luna lay back on the couch, tears streaming from her eyes.

"T-tell me you - you f-feel." She sobbed from the couch.

Harry slid onto the couch to Luna's left side and Hermione sat on the right.

He stretched out along one side and said, "I feel that you have seen far, far too much for one day and that you need a hug and a good cry."

Luna rolled onto his chest and did just that, with Hermione cuddling along her other side.

"Harry," Luna sobbed, "He's Albus Dumbledore, everyone knows he's infallible."

Harry stroked her hair, "Apparently not."

Luna began to wail in earnest.

Harry looked horrified at Hermione, his wide, panicky eyes screaming _what can I do?_

"Albus Dumbledore is human, Luna. He's not infallible, none of us are."

Luna sniffed, loudly, "That's just it. If Dumbledore can bollix things up so badly, then what can I hope to do?"

And Harry knew.

He couldn't trust Dumbledore to be right all the time, and he couldn't trust that Luna would be right all the time either. In the end, he could only hope to do his best, given the best information available.

He loved his witches, and he loved Dumbledore, flawed as he was, as the grandfather he never knew.

In the end, it would all come down to him.

They lay together, just sharing warmth and companionship, for the rest of the morning.

Harry and Hermione found themselves alone on the couch when they awoke to the aroma of his favorite shepherd's pie.

Luna had convinced the Room that it needed to be a Command in Control center, with an adhesive wall on which she'd placed dozens of scrolls, notes, and diagrams.

"Good morning, or rather, good afternoon, loves. The shower is through that door. I'd join you, but I'm in the middle of something here and besides, I've been up for hours."

"You should have awakened us as well!" Hermione groused.

"Uh, uh," Luna said, shaking her head, "I love you Hermione, but you are _not_ a morning person. Besides, isn't it nice to sleep with our wizard all by yourself sometimes?"

Hermione couldn't argue with that so she grabbed Harry by the hand and pulled him into the adjoining bathroom.

Luna smiled at the sounds of laughter, followed by moans followed by the sound of skin slapping on skin and ending with satisfied groans. Only then did the shower come on.

Two-thirds of the thruple came out looking refreshed and sated. They pulled Luna into a three-way hug, each one kissing her tenderly.

"All right then, Luna?" Hermione asked.

"Nevah bettah!"

The golden trio looked at the wall, covered as it was by the outline that was in fact, the blueprint for success against Lord Voldemort.

Harry whistled, "Is this time-line accurate, perhaps we should give ourselves more leeway here?"

Luna shook her head, "Once the Horcruxes have been destroyed, we must act quickly."

Neither of the other two mages doubted Luna's judgment.

"Okay, first, the locket." Hermione said, "It was back at Grimmauld Place when we saw it last."

"How about a nice carriage ride into Hogsmeade, and then a floo from the Three Broomsticks?" Harry suggested.

The carriage ride to Hogsmeade station was nice and slow, allowing Harry and Luna to enjoy a nice long snog which, after a short time, included Hermione. As it was the dead of winter clothing stayed on, but hands wandered freely.

A happily dazed thruple stepped out of the carriage and walked, arms linked to Madam Rosmerta's establishment.

"A nice, warm, butterbeer wouldn't go amiss." Luna suggested.

Three warm mugs later the trio stepped into the fireplace just as another patron appeared in green flames. They stepped back from what appeared to be a loose pile of clothing that smelled of stale tobacco and firewhiskey. The raggedy man fell to the ground with the sound of crashing silverware and breaking crystal.

The tattered man griped, "Oi! Watch where you're goin!"

"Sorry, here, we can help," Harry began tossing silver and other bric-a-brac into a large canvas bag, "Dung?"

"Whozzat? Harry? Uh, sorry, mate, um, gotta go…"

"Harry," Hermione asked, holding up a silver goblet, "Isn't this the Black Family Crest?"

"Dung? What is all this?"

The old thief looked ready to bolt until Luna tapped the top of his head with the tip of her wand and said, "_Dormus."_

Mundungus Fletcher crumpled to the floor and immediately began to snore.

"Madam Rosemerta, please call for an auror." Luna said, "While we catalog some of Harry's property."

Virtually all the silver from the Black household was in the bag, and not just flatware, doorknobs, tankards and goblets, all goblin made and virtually priceless. Fletcher would have pawned it for a fraction of its value, and then gone on a binge.

Mundungus had at least one gold ring on each finger; all of them bore the mark of the house of black. Around his neck he wore a dozen gold chains some with pendants, some without, and one bore a green locket with a stylized 'S'.

When the aurors arrived they took Harry's statement. Property crime against a lord would put Mundungus Fletcher in Azkaban for twelve years.

"Harry, how did you destroy Riddle's diary?" Luna asked.

"With a basilisk fang."

"Do you happen to know where to find one of those?"

Harry nodded, "I know where to find a whole bunch of those."

"Then it would be possible for each of us to carry a 'Horcrux obliterator'." Hermione enthused.

Luna added, "One for each of Potters Commandos wouldn't go amiss." She then added, "Time to get Professor Slughorn on board."

When Horace Slughorn learned that there was a twenty meter basilisk carcass in the lower chambers of the castle his eyes went slightly unfocused. There may have been drool – he was clearly hyperventilating.

Before he could have access to the priceless ingredients, though, Luna demanded his signature on a magically binding contract – he would have the normal agent's fee of fifteen percent, fifty percent of the proceeds would go to Harry, ten percent to Hogwarts' general fund and the remaining twenty-five percent would remain in trust for Ginevra Weasley until she reached the age of majority.

When Horace balked at his 'paltry percentage' Luna vaporized the contract on the spot with a flame hex.

"Very well, Professor. The goblins have offered us better terms in any case, and a much better return on our investment."

"I'll take it!" the portly potions professor nearly shouted.

Luna produced another parchment, the wording of which was nearly identical, except Horace Slughorn's share was now ten percent, and Ginevra Weasley's was thirty.

The potions master wanted to complain again, but chose to bite his tongue.

Students began arriving back from holiday in large numbers by Saturday the fourth of January. Padma greeted Luna and Hermione with a hug and a kiss on each cheek, then smiled at Harry, _"Mama oyata adarei." _She said and kissed his cheek.

"What does that mean, Padma?"

"Oh, just a traditional greeting in Sinhalese, it means, um, 'I'm glad to see you', more or less."

Just then Parvati entered with a gushing Lavender Brown.

Harry accepted a hug from Lavender, who only briefly interrupted her narrative, "And then he, oh! Hi Harry, kiss, kiss," bussed Harry on the cheek, "He asked if I would go with him to Hogsmeade and of course…"

Harry, swept up in the momentum of greetings, kissed Parvati on the cheek and said, _"Mama oyata adarei." _

"W-what?"

"Did I not say that right? I wanted to surprise you."

Padma looked ready to burst, but managed to keep her calm, "Yes, Parv, I was telling Harry, that's how we greet each other in Sri Lanka."

"Oh, I see." Parvati said, grinning broadly, "In that case, Harry, if you use _that_ greeting, only say it to a girl, and you should always give her a little kiss as well." She looked at her twin, "It's only polite."

Harry said, "Oh, okay." And moved to give her a peck on the cheek, but Parvati turned her head at the last moment and kissed him full on the lips.

Slightly dazed Harry said, "Glad to see you too."

As he walked away from the smiling twins he asked Luna, "I didn't think Indian, um, Asian, um."

"Sinhalese, Harry" Hermione said helpfully.

"I didn't know Sinhalese people were so, ah, demonstrative."

On Sunday afternoon Harry called Potter's Commandos to their first meeting. Each member received a short, sharp fang-blade in a basilisk-hide scabbard and were admonished to use them only in great need as the points were guaranteed deadly, unless one had a phoenix handy and could get treatment within a minute.

In addition to her fang-blade, Luna gave Ginevra a Gringotts key.

"What's this?"

"The key to your trust vault, call it a dowry, if you want."

"H-how much?"

Luna shrugged, "Whatever thirty percent of a basilisk is worth these days. You are allowed to draw ten percent per year from the vault for school expenses and clothing."

In short, Ginevra Weasley would never again have to wear second-hand clothes.

At the beginning of the meeting all eyes turned to see Neville Longbottom entering the Room of Requirement escorting, of all people, the Slytherin pure-blood princess, Pansy Parkinson.

He'd apparently blossomed over the Yule break and stood tall and self-assured in new, well tailored robes. The Longbottom crest embroidered over his left breast, the head of family ring glittered on the third finger of his right hand. As Harry and his witches approached Neville, he bowed and Pansy curtseyed, "My lord Black."

Harry and Neville excused themselves leaving Luna and Hermione with Pansy.

Luna smiled and extended her hand, "You will be the next Lady Longbottom."

It wasn't a question.

Pansy smirked, "And you will be Lady Potter?"

"I think I'll be the Lady Black, Hermione will be the Lady Potter, of that I'm sure."

Hermione blushed, but smiled and nodded. "If Luna's interpretation of events is accurate, then I have good reason to hope."

The Slytherin girl cocked an eyebrow, then smiled broadly. "Neville tells me you prompted him to seek me out this past month."

Luna nodded.

"Then I owe you a debt I can't begin to repay. Neville has ascended to his lordship and placed the Minor House of Parkinson under his protection. I had planned never to return to Hogwarts when I left in December. I was going to escape my betrothal to the disgraced House of Malfoy either in death or disenchantment, giving up my magic and moving to Australia – I don't know which would have been worse."

Luna looked thoughtful, "Well, the few dead people I know, the Lady Helen of Ravenclaw and Myrtle, of course, will tell you that dying is unpleasant if you have no place to look forward to. However, parts of Australia are beautiful!"

Pansy nodded and said, "You will maintain your facade, and I respect that, but know this, if there is anything I can do to help, please don't hesitate to ask, Lady Black."

"I will remember, Lady Longbottom."

"For the record, Pansy, it's not an act." Hermione explained. "Luna seems distracted because of her unique ability to divine information, past, present and future. Unfortunately, she doesn't seem to be able to stop, and that keeps her, um, distracted."

"That's not entirely true, Pansy," Luna corrected, "When Harry and Hermione have their hands all over me and Harry is thrusting into me with his…"

Hermione placed a gentle hand on Luna's lips, "TMI dear. The Lady Longbottom doesn't need to know so much about our private lives."

Luna looked at Pansy, surprised, "But you did want to know, didn't you; aren't you curious?"

Pansy blushed and grinned, "We can talk privately later, Lady Black."

The first assembly of Potter's Commandos dispersed with plans to meet again after the regular DA meeting on Monday evening.

Membership in Harry's Defense Association, still initialed the 'DA' was thrown open to all interested students. There were murmurs of dissent when Blaise Zabini entered, accompanied by Daphne Greengrass. Tracy Davis entered the room as a guest of Neville and Pansy.

The tall, dark and too handsome Zabini drew his wand and swore, "I swear by my life and my magic I mean no harm to anyone here."

The three Slytherin girls also swore and the tensions eased.

Blaise walked over to Harry and said, "Potter, there is a new division within Slytherin. There are the Death Eater wanabees, and the fence sitters, but now there is a faction that openly opposes Voldemort."

Tracy joined the conversation; "Those of us who are anti-Voldemort never travel anywhere alone and sleep in shifts. Some of us just want to leave."

"Who is openly anti-Voldemort?" Harry asked.

Blaise counted off on his fingers, "I am, Tracy and Daphne, Astoria – that's Daphne's little sister – and Pansy."

Daphne smiled, "Pansy caused quite a stir when she tore up Malfoy's betrothal contract, but apparently Draco's done something that rendered the contract null and void, and now Pansy is the presumptive Lady Longbottom."

Harry nodded, "Draco took the Dark Mark last summer."

Blaise was shocked. "I can't believe it; do you know what you have to do to get that mark?"

Harry nodded, "Yes, and apparently he did." Looking thoughtful, "Who, besides Draco is openly pro-Voldemort?"

"Well, Crabbe and Goyle, of course, along with Nott and Avery."

"Do you think any of them are marked?"

"Doubtful, but then again, before this past summer, I would have said the same thing about Draco."

"Okay, Blaise, I need a sparring partner tonight, care to be my victim?"

"Victim? Feeling a bit cocky, are we, Potter?"

Dead serious Harry answered, "I've fought Voldemort twice in the past two years and I'm still here."

Zabini swallowed heavily and said, "Um, can we take it easy, at first?"

"Fair enough."

Adding the Slytherins to the DA classes turned out to be a godsend, their knowledge of borderline dark spells and just plain dirty tricks added considerably to the arsenal at the Defense Association's command.

After the open DA class Potter's Commandos convened. It was made up of the "Ministry Six," along with Padma, Dean, Lavender and, to everyone's surprise, Pansy Parkinson.

"Neville knows better than to try to leave me out of the loop. Wherever he goes, I go. My fate will be the same as his."

Luna smiled, "You're not simply betrothed - you've _Handfasted."_

Neville and Pansy smiled and held up their left hands so that their sleeves fell back, revealing the bright green ivy tattoo about their wrists.

Neville explained, "In order to ascend I had to be seventeen or married. Pansy and I are Handfasted for a year and a day. I hope you will all attend our wedding this August."

Congratulations were offered all around and Luna saw Harry looking wistful.

"You know Hermione and I would be glad to bond with you, Harry, but please, don't feel that this is something you have to do. We love you, and we are both willing to wait. We are young, and, statistically, first loves seldom last."

"And what does your mathemagical sense tell you about us?"

"That we will be the exception to that rule, of course!"

Luna called the group to order, then handed back the galleons they had given her the week before the Yule break.

"These coins still have the protean charm, but will call only fellow commandos. In addition, each coin is a portkey, and will buzz three times if one of the master coins is activated. If your portkey activates have your wand at the ready and wherever you land start shooting the deadliest hexes you know. No stuns, no _incarcerous_ spells, if you are summoned, someone wants to kill us, all of us."

Dean whistled, "Damn, Lovegood, gloves are off, eh?"

Luna smiled and said, "Stunned and stupefied enemies will come back into the fight - we saw that last year at the Department of Mysteries. Decapitated people are less likely to do so."

At the end of the short meeting Luna and Hermione pulled Pansy aside, "Tell me, Pansy, have you ever seen this cup?"

Saying this, Hermione conjured an image of Helga Hufflepuff's golden goblet.

Pansy nodded, "Lucius had it on loan from his 'sister in law'. I can only assume he meant Bellatrix, as no one in wizarding society will have anything to do with Narcissa's other sister. In any case, he seemed eager to be rid of it."

Luna quickly worked it out, "Voldemort must have given it to Bellatrix for safe keeping, she must have assumed Malfoy could keep it safe, but he already had one of Voldemort's artifacts so he wouldn't have wanted to be responsible for another."

Luna shook her sandy blonde main and said, "Time to co-opt the goblins."

)O(

Sharptooth shook his head as he mulled over what the Presumptive Lady Black had just said.

"The entire collection of goblin wrought silver in the Houses of Black and Potter to be returned to the goblins immediately in consideration for removing a curse from an object in another vault, the one belonging to the Lestranges."

Luna continued, "Please note, honorable goblin, that the item will not be taken from the vault, it won't even be touched by human or goblin hands."

Then he'd been presented with the means to do so, a fang-blade of immeasurable value, taken from a basilisk, killed in combat.

All that Lady Luna Black had asked for in return was a pensive memory showing the curse's removal.

In consideration of the Lady's trust, Sharptooth had taken her to the vault in question, opened the door for the biannual inventory of contents, and left the door open so that she could witness the curse-breaking with her own eyes.

The goblin touched the tip of the knife to the crest in the cup and was shocked to see the vaporous form of a man coalesce, before dispersing with an agonized shriek.

As Sharptooth handed the blade back to the Lady Black she smiled and said, "You have proven yourself a Goblin Friend today, Sharptooth. Please accept this blade with the gratitude of Lord Potter Black."

Goblin custom insisted that a gift must be returned in kind.

"Lady Black, I grant you the title and responsibility of Goblin Friend. For the next three generations, you may call upon the Sharptooth Clan in times of need and we shall respond."

Luna smiled. Of course she'd calculated the probability that he would do that, but it's always gratifying to be proven right…

Later that night as she lay with Harry and Hermione she smiled, "The diary, the ring, the locket, the goblet. We know that Nagini is probably one, although it makes no sense to make a living thing into a Horcrux. The snake will eventually die, then what?"

"How do we get close to the snake?" Hermione asked.

"Catch Wormtail in his rat form, break two of his legs and then call her." Harry groused.

"Well, that would be one way to cancel his life debt to you." Luna said, dismissively.

"Wait, what was that?" Harry asked.

"Pettigrew owes you a life debt. That means his life is quite literally in your hands."

Hermione hummed, "So if we can somehow get in contact with Pettigrew…"

Harry shook his head, "Oh yes, if we could just say, 'Accio Peter Pettigrew' and have him fly into our hands."

Luna thought hard for a moment, then smiled.

"Use Snape."

"Professor Snape?" Hermione asked, unbelieving.

"Snape is a death eater, ostensibly working as a spy for the light side, but whether he is or not he does have to report to Voldemort on a fairly regular basis."

So if we were to charm a simple message to Pettigrew, saying, what, "Kill the snake and I'll cancel your life debt? And I can just see it now, excuse me Professor Snape, but would you take this note to Peter Pettigrew and please not read it along the way."

Ten minutes later Harry was confused, "We left a perfectly warm, comfortable bed in the Room of Requirement so that we could look through Ron Weasley's wardrobe?"

"I remember Ronald being quite the pack-rat as a child; I don't think he'd throw it away. Ah, here it is!" Luna said triumphantly.

"What?"

"Scabber's old cage."

)O(

And so it was on a cold bleak evening in mid-January, Severus Snape answered the call of his dark lord. He did not notice the black origami beetle in the folds of his billowing robes. When he arrived at the Malfoy's manor he didn't see the paper art flutter aimlessly around the room until it recognized its recipient by his hair. The paper bug had been charmed using one of Scabbers hairs to deliver itself only to the one with hair to match, and whether rat or human, one of Pettigrew's hairs was as good as another for this particular charm.

The paper beetle landed on the rat animagus's nose, then unfolded itself.

The note read.

_**Peter Petigrew,**_

_**The life debt you owe me will be considered paid in full upon the receipt of the head of Nagini, the snake and familiar to he who calls himself Lord Voldemort.**_

_**Lord Potter**_

_**PS, Do this, Peter. For once in your life do something right!**_

Pettigrew stared at the impossible note for several long moments when it reassembled itself and flew into the fireplace.

He looked at the snake and thought, "I never did like that scaly monstrosity."

Now he just needed some pretense to get Nagini off someplace. It would just be a matter of time.

)O(

Luna watched the great barn owl at dinner. It circled three times over the tables then landed gracefully on the table before Harry. He accepted its package and gave the owl a mutton chop, which the bird gratefully accepted.

Hermione cast a revealing charm on the box and said, "There's something dark in this box, Harry, let's not open it here."

After dinner Harry stood in the Defense classroom with Hermione and Luna. Also in the room were Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Snape.

Dumbledore did a series of hand motions, as if he were peeling an invisible egg, and the package unwrapped then opened itself.

Inside was the head of Nagini, and a two word note, "We're even!"

"One Horcrux to go and then we can finish him." Luna said.

Snape, normally pale, had gone the color of milk. "H-how did you do this, Potter?"

Luna answered, "Thank you for taking our note to Peter Pettigrew, if you hadn't done that for us, we'd still be trying to suss a way into Voldemort's lair, which I know is protected by a fidelius, but that doesn't matter."

"Why not?" Minerva asked.

"Because Voldemort and his death eaters are at the Malfoy's manor house."

By this time Severus Snape was beginning to develop a slight tic. A common response to being in close proximity to Luna Lovegood when she was on a roll.

Walking away from the DDA classroom, Luna sighed, "Now we just need the lost diadem of Rowena Ravenclaw."

"Do we know what it looks like?" Harry asked.

"There's a statue of Rowena in the Ravenclaw common room, come on."

Luna led her mates to the Ravenclaw tower and stood by the entrance waiting for the riddle.

"I am the only one whose own product is the same as my own sum."

"You're the number two." Hermione said, with a smirk.

"Enter."

Harry, Hermione and Luna walked around the life sized statue of Rowena Ravenclaw. In her hair was a thin gilded circlet that read, "Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure."

A nagging crumb of a memory teased Harry. "I've seen this, or something like it, but where?"

Luna led her loves out of the common area up the stair to her room, "Perhaps if we sleep on it?"

Harry smiled, "As much as I'd like that, I don't want to get you into trouble."

"You won't Harry, I'm on the potion."

"I mean…" then he caught it, the little gleam that meant she was having him on.

He was about to respond in kind when he saw a goddess over Luna's shoulder.

Padma stood in a short diaphanous gown, her dark legs seeming to go on forever. The Singhalese beauty smiled and said, "If you need help, ladies, let me know, I _am_ the prefect on duty tonight, and I feel it's my responsibility to help you, or your wizard, out of any 'tight spots' he might find himself in."

Luna led Harry into her room and Hermione chuckled, "I think Padma wants to help Harry _into_ a tight spot, eh sister dear?"

Luna ran her hands down Harry's front, "Do you like that idea, love? I could call her."

Harry groaned, "Are you _trying_ to kill me, woman?"

Hermione smirked, "Maybe, but what a way to go!"

He sat on the bed and pulled the two witches to sit with him. "I'm just learning what it is to be in love. Of course I find Padma attractive."

"Attractive?" Luna said with a snort, "You, dearest, have a gift for understatement. She. Is. A _goddess."_

"Okay, lets say we invite Padma to join us, who next? Parvati? Susan? Hannah? Maybe Lavender? How about those Slytherins, Daphne and Tracy?"

"I love you, Luna," he said, kissing the open palm of her hand, "But no more and certainly no less than I love you, Hermione." Saying this he kissed Hermione's palms as well. I don't need a harem, I want to survive this upcoming battle with Voldemort, then finish school, then figure out what to do with the rest of my life, and I hope and pray that you will both be with me when I do."

Luna gasped, "Mr. Potter! Is that a proposal?"

Harry smiled and answered, "It will be, the day I turn seventeen."

Two _squeeing_ girls pounced on Harry and kissed him senseless.

"You've got to admit, though, Padma is very intelligent, and very, _very_ hot."

Harry chuckled and said, "Oh all right. Yes, yes she is."

Then lost himself in their kisses.

Luna smirked.

The seed was planted, now they had to encourage it to grow and blossom.

)O(

A/N: _"Mama oyata adarei." _means "I love you" in Singhalese.


	8. Chapter 8: Back to the Rm of Hid Things

Chapter 8 – Back to the Room of Hidden Things

Harry woke to the most wonderful feeling in the world as Luna's head bobbed up and down over his morning wood.

He groaned, then sighed, "You're spoiling me, you know."

Luna pulled off, releasing her morning toy with a loud 'smack,' and smiled, "No, Harry. I'm cherishing you."

"I love you, Luna Lovegood."

"No more than I love you – or Hermione for that matter."

He looked around the small room, "Where _is_ Hermione?"

"She's in the common room, apparently giving me 'equal time' since she had you all to herself in the bathroom yesterday."

Harry frowned, "Do you think she's ever jealous when we're, um, together?"

"Love isn't jealous. You want what's best for the one you love, more than anything, true love means you are happy if the one you love is happy." She looked serious for a moment, "You were willing to let Hermione be with Ron, even though you loved her. Why is that?"

"Because I thought that was what she wanted, and if she was going to be happy with Ron, then I was going to be happy for her."

Luna shook her head, "Harry, it would have been a train wreck. Ron is totally wrong for Hermione, _anyone_ can see that."

She performed the familiar breath-freshening charm and leaned forward for her morning kiss. The minty freshness of the spell flowed into Harry's mouth as well and they kissed for a fair few minutes.

They broke the kiss when Luna began stroking his unflagging erection with her small hand.

Harry's hand slid down to the silky tuft of fur above Luna's sex and then into her very wet folds. Luna turned away from Harry, rose up on her hands and knees, then looked over her shoulder and smiled.

"Doggie style?" He smirked.

"Oh yes, Harry. Make me your bitch!"

"Oh, Woof!"

He mounted her from behind and reveled in the access. He could rub her back, fondle her arse cheeks, reach forward to cup her wonderful, soft breasts or reach under to tease her sex.

"It's all so good; I don't know what to hold onto."

"Oh!" Luna squeaked as Harry found a particularly sensitive spot, "I'm sure you'll find something…"

The young wizard didn't know what he had done to deserve this wonderful witch, but he vowed to do whatever he could to be worthy of her, and Hermione, someday.

He increased the tempo and intensity of his strokes until Luna slid forward on the bed, her face a picture of pure bliss, as Harry literally pounded her into the mattress. Her moans began to rise and fall in pitch and intensity, as Harry accelerated his thrusts, until the sounds she made were like that of a siren, "AhhhhhAAAAAAAaaaahhhhhhhhhh_AAAAAAAhhhhhhhhhhh!"_

Finally with a guttural growl he was spent.

Harry kissed Luna's neck, then her shoulders, then trailed kisses down her spine as he pulled out of her.

She mewed in protest.

"You always sound like a little girl who's had her favorite toy taken away when I do that."

Luna rolled on her back and smiled, "I can't think of a better simile, love."

Harry frowned, "We're still in the Ravenclaw tower, in the _girl's_ dorm, I can't get my morning shower."

Luna chuckled, "So, disillusion yourself and go on down to the bathroom; the showers are enclosed cubicles so you won't flash anyone while you shower." Luna looked pensive for a moment, "Although, I _could_ earn quite a few sickles selling tickets if you didn't disillusion yourself and just showered with the door open…"

"I'll be right back," he said, tapping the top of his head with his wand and blending into the background, "love you."

"Love you too, take your time."

As Harry left, the other person in the room un-disillusioned, then fell into Luna's arms.

"You understand, Padma, that this will bond you to him, to _us."_

The Sinhalese girl nodded.

"Then let's begin."

Padma Patil lay down on the rug at the foot of the bed, and then placed her legs up on the mattress.

Luna stood over the exotic beauty, interlacing her legs with Padma's, then lowered herself until their slits touched. A simple bracing charm opened the girl's vaginas slightly so that what spilled out of Luna would pour into Padma, all the way to her receptive womb.

Their two nether-lips, one set a chocolate brown, the other alabaster white fused together in an erotic, fluid swapping, open mouthed kiss.

The witches ground their punanni together, sharing Harry's potent seed.

Before too long both girls were crying out their mutual orgasms.

It took a few minutes for the girl's breathing to return to normal; and Luna was a bit wobbly after she'd disentangled her legs from her lover's. Padma scooched over to the floor by Luna's side of the bed and laid there with her bum elevated on a pillow.

"Ten minutes should do. Fifteen to be sure. See you at breakfast?"

Padma smiled and nodded.

Just before she re-cast the disillusionment charm, Luna kissed her and said, "I love you, my Padma."

"No less than I love you, my Luna."

Luna pondered for a moment; _I wonder if this is how that first virgin birth came about?_

When Harry returned from the shower, Luna excused herself to go to the loo. She made a side trip to the common room and told Hermione that Harry was up and probably ready for breakfast.

Hermione smiled and asked, "Did he enjoy his wake-up?"

Luna smiled and nodded, "We both did."

So it was that a few minutes later the golden thruple, arms linked, practically skipped into the Great Hall.

Into the sight and sound of Lavender Brown shrieking at her soon-to-be ex-boyfriend.

"You low-life, cheating, slimy, _pond scum!"_

Ron saw Harry arrive with Luna and Hermione and seemed to take heart.

"But those three are a trio and they're okay with it!"

"You unbelievable selfish prat, don't you dare drag them into this!"

Ron, looking for some support from his 'best mate' cried, "Harry, can you help me out here?"

Harry sighed and said, "Ron, Luna and Hermione and I connected in a way that I can't begin to understand at Slughorn's party in December – we, that is to say, _all three of us,_ agreed to be together."

Luna put a sympathetic hand on Lavender's shoulder, "What happened?"

Lavender shrugged, "What happened is _Ronald_ here doesn't think I'm enough for him. I saw him fall out of the fourth floor broom cupboard with Eloise Midgeon.

"When I asked what they were doing, Eloise told me that Ronald had said 'Oh, Lavender doesn't mind sharing'."

Ron began to sidle away from the group at the table.

"One moment, Ron." Lavender said, then pointed her wand at him, saying, "_Aurum ad fervens."_

At first Ron didn't react, but then his eyes grew wide and he began to hop up and down, shaking his right arm until the glowing bracelet that Lavender had given him was flung off his burned wrist.

"Ronald Weasley, we're through. I thought you were the one, but I was stupid. I won't be stupid again."

She sashayed over to where he stood, cradling his burned wrist.

"Remember this, Weasley." She said in a voice, sultry and oozing with the promise of glorious sex, "I will always be the best you ever had…"

Her knee came up hard and fast.

Ron 'eeped' before crumpling to the ground.

"…and you pissed it away."

She retrieved her bracelet, now as cool as Weasley's ardor, and walked out of the Great Hall with great dignity.

With a sigh, Harry helped his former best mate up.

"Ron?"

He turned to see a seething Eloise Midgeon.

"Eloise!"

Eloise was a plain girl, a bit large for her size, but pleasant unless provoked.

She had been provoked.

Eloise slapped Ron hard enough to spin him completely around and loosen three teeth on the left side of his face. He fell to the floor and curled into a fetal ball whimpering, "Can this day get any worse?"

From the entranceway to the great hall Lavender stopped, snapped her fingers and said, "_Incendio_ Cannon's Tickets!"

Ron screamed and slapped his own arse as his precious Chudley Cannon's permanent box seat tickets burst into flames in his hip pocket.

'Flash!'

Colin Creevey smiled and strode off, presumably to develop the negative.

"Harry, Hermione, let's take breakfast out on the lawn, shall we?"

The thruple made breakfast sandwiches with bacon and eggs and soft cheese, grabbed a coffee thermos, and then headed into the courtyard.

"Um, Luna, it's still January, there's snow on the ground."

Luna patiently relieved him of his sandwich and coffee, placing them along with hers and Hermione's on the stone railing that ringed the courtyard.

Hermione sighed, "Harry, are we or are we not mages?"

Slapping his forehead with the palm of his hand he said, oh yeah.

They marked off a four-meter square in the snow and stood at each of the corners.

"We need a fourth," Luna mused.

Padma strolled across the snow covered lawn, "Will I do?"

Luna smiled, "You'll be perfect."

They vanished the snow and accelerated the grass to a soft, green carpet.

Padma transfigured a handkerchief into a picnic blanket and spread it on the grass.

Then they conjured a glass gazebo, like a small greenhouse, and settled down to enjoy a leisurely Sunday morning breakfast.

Long clover blossoms bloomed at the periphery of their blanket and Padma harvested them to make small wreathes.

A tap on the glass wall got their attention and the four students looked up at a beaming Professor Flitwick.

"Ten points each for Ravenclaw and Gryffindor for an excellent example of cooperative charms work. Well done, well done indeed!"

Padma grinned, "We _do_ seem to work well together, don't you think?"

Luna and Hermione smiled and Harry looked slightly bemused.

Padma held up a crown of green and white and placed it, slightly askew on Harry's unruly hair. Then bowed, "My lord, what do you require of me?"

"I require that you remain forever as brilliant and beautiful as you are now."

"Have a care, milord, I am but a simple girl and not used to such flattery."

"Tis not idle flattery, milady, it's the truth."

The four teens fell over laughing at the harmless flirting. Luna and Hermione exchanged meaningful looks; _they_ certainly weren't going to discourage it.

Luna smiled, "You look very handsome, milord."

"Do I? And here I sit without a mirror."

Padma bowed, placing the palms of her hands on the blanket, "Your slightest wish is my fervent command, milord." She sat up, then aimed a spell at the glass wall behind her, which silvered the back, creating a large mirror.

Harry smirked at his reflection, adjusted the clover diadem to a perfect rakish angle and froze in open-mouthed shock.

"Harry?" Hermione asked, "What is it?"

He carefully placed the clover circlet on the blanket, then leaned forward to kiss the startled, but nonetheless pleased Padma.

Luna was no less startled and muttered, "Random factors…" under her breath.

In a voice, just above a whisper, he said, "Meet me in the seventh floor corridor, bring your fang-blades."

They vanished the remains of their picnic in silence, removed the greenhouse and magically returned the grass to its wintering state. Padma created a small vortex that redistributed the snow onto the bare patch of ground.

"Ten minutes?" Harry asked.

"We can be there in five."

"Five minutes then, I love you."

The three girls chorused, "I love you."

Harry made it a practice to always remind his witches that he loved them whenever they parted. It's a good habit.

By the time he'd gone to his room to retrieve his fang-blade and jogged up the steps to the seventh floor Hermione, Luna and Padma were already waiting for him, their belted knives on their shapely hips.

Harry paced back and forth, "I need a place to hide this knife, I need a place to hide this knife, I need a place to hide this knife."

The small, simple wooden door appeared and the thruple, plus one, entered the room of hidden things.

Once inside he said, "I remembered where I'd seen Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem. It was on the bust of a warlock down the same aisle as Malfoy's portal. Now, which aisle?"

"This one Harry," Hermione said, getting excited.

They found a blistered cabinet upon which stood the bust of a singularly unattractive warlock. A tarnished old diadem rested at a jaunty angle atop its bald pate.

They placed the diadem on the floor and each of the teens touched the glistening tips of their fang-blades to it.

As with Hufflepuff's cup, there was a release of black vapor, which coalesced into the shape of a man that screamed before dissipating.

They heard the sound of a door opening and closing.

"Didja hear sumpin?" a coarse voice asked.

"All kinds of things, now start looking Goyle." Came a response in a familiar drawl.

Whether the notice-me-not charm had expired, or Draco's desperation was so great didn't matter, Malfoy had re-entered the Room of Hidden Things.

Harry and his three witches disillusioned themselves, and then moved cautiously to the spot where the portal had been transfigured into a chamber pot.

They could see each other's outlines as they moved carefully up the aisle, but only because they knew they were there and what to look for.

Luna picked up the chamber pot, which blended into the background by virtue of having been picked up by a disillusioned witch, then transfigured an empty sherry bottle into the likeness of the portal.

Hermione's outline hovered near the cabinet, placing runes about the faux portal to make it look more authentic.

The foursome was careful to not knock over anything this time as they made their way to the exit.

Harry picked up a handful of pottery shards and flung them far away from the only door to the room.

"There! Hear that?"

"It was over there!"

The disillusioned teens carefully opened the door and saw a wide eyed Slytherin 'firstie' gape-mouthed staring at the door.

"My, but you're a pretty one, aren't you?" Luna asked in her best ethereal voice.

The girl screamed, wet herself, and ran down the hallway and down the stair, screaming the whole way.

"You don't suppose that really was a firstie, just exploring the castle, do you?" Harry asked.

"Not likely, bit if it was, we'll make it up to her." Luna insisted.

Padma asked, "If she wasn't a firstie, who was she?"

Harry, Hermione and Luna all laughed, then let Hermione, great explainer that she was, enlighten Padma on the polyjuiced Crabbe and Goyle.

Padma's first reaction was the same as Hermione's, "_Ew!"_

Hermione counted off on her fingers, "The diary, the ring, the locket, the cup, the snake, the diadem…"

Luna, her voice quavering, asked, "Can you do it, Harry; can you kill a man?"

"You've heard the prophesy, Luna. One of us must die at the hand of the other. If I die, then he'll kill you, and Hermione, and Padma and everyone who has stood by me, supporting me these past six years. And he won't stop there; he'll go after your families as well. Your dad, Hermione's parents and Grammere Leda.

"I have to be able to kill him, if I don't, if I _can't,_ then too many good people will suffer."

A single tear rolled down Luna's cheek, "I love you, Harry Potter."

"No more than I love you, Luna Lovegood."

"Please, Harry, as head of the houses of Potter and Black, please bind us to your houses."

Hermione looked uncomfortable, "Luna, we know Harry won't change his mind about us, and, well, if he does, then it would be better to find out about it sooner rather than later."

"I don't mean forever, Harry." Luna continued as if Hermione hadn't spoken, "How about a year and a day?"

Padma gasped, "Handfasting? You want us to pledge ourselves to him for a year?"

"And a day," Luna added, "Yes. Please Harry, for us?"

Harry looked into Hermione's sparkling brown eyes, "I would happily marry you today, if you would have me. I'm not going to change my mind about you, any of you." He said, looking pointedly at Padma.

"Padma, a man would have to be an idiot to not see that these two are pushing us together – and I admit that I am very fond of you, but love you? I can't say for sure, but I am certainly willing to try to find out."

Padma didn't realize she'd been holding her breath and she let it out with a whooshing sound, "Oh Harry, I know I _do_ love you. I will happily pledge myself to you and your families in whatever capacity you'll have me, third wife, concubine or mistress, I don't care, just let me be whatever you need me to be."

"Well, the two smartest girls, make that the smartest _mages_ in Hogwarts are telling us we should be together, and, in my experience, when these two agree on something a man would have to be an idiot to not take their advice – I'd like to think I'm not an idiot."

Harry looked back at Hermione and Luna, who were clinging to each other for support, marriage was a huge step, not to be taken lightly.

"I-I don't know the proper words to say."

Padma smiled and said, "Just say what's on your heart, love."

He dropped to one knee, and reached for all three ladies with his left hand, palm up. Each of his ladies placed their left hand in his, palm down, first Hermione, then Luna, then Padma. In the tradition of the ancient Celts he intoned the hand-fasting vows, as best he could remember.

"Hermione Granger, Luna Lovegood, Padma Patil, will you consent to take my name, share my future, my fortunes and my follies for as long as we all walk upon this Earth?"

As he said this three white silken cords appeared and wrapped themselves around the four hands binding them together

Three happy voices intoned a solemn, "I will," and the cords tied themselves into complex Celtic knots, which then turned emerald green.

Then, speaking for the first time as husband and patriarch of the hand-fasted group, Harry formally stated "So mote it be!" which caused the knots to phase into each of the four wrists leaving a green glowing tattoo of the interlocked design on the palm sides of each of their wrists.

Harry rose and studied the fresh tattoo on his wrist, as the girls, no, the _wives_ did the same.

Hermione, Luna and Padma all said, simultaneously, "You may kiss the brides."

"Jinx!" Harry said, quickly. "Hey, it's not often that I can get one over on my scary brilliant girlfriends, um, witches, um, _wives!"_

Luna and Hermione stepped back so that Padma could have her first proper kiss with Harry.

They fell into each other's arms and kissed, gently at first, then with mounting open mouthed ardor.

"Hem, hem!" Luna said, startling the kissing couple, "Share, you two!"

Padma said, "Okay!" and snogged Luna cross-eyed as Harry did the same for Hermione.

After sever minutes of snogging with every permutation that four people could accomplish Harry smiled. "I can see we're going to need fifteen minutes at the beginning of every day just to say good morning."

"Times four on weekends, love." Padma said with a sultry look.

"At least!" Hermione and Luna said simultaneously.

"Jinx!" all four of the newlyweds said, at exactly the same time.

"Great minds think alike, we'd better get used to this." Luna said.

"Is that it, then?" he asked, "Don't we need witnesses?"

"Each handfasting requires two witnesses, and since there are four of us that's already done, so we're well and truly married."

"For a year and a day." Hermione reminded them.

Harry swept her up in his arms, "If you think I'm going to let you go at the end of one year then I'm sorry, you can't possibly be the 'brightest witch of your age'!"

Hermione pounded playfully on his chest, "Brute, if you think I, I mean we are going to let you off the hook at the end of a year, then you have not been paying attention!"

Luna smiled, "What we have is a binding magical vow, it will have been recorded in the Ministry's Hall of Records, these," she held up her right wrist, "are proof that the vow is valid."

She held up the chamber pot that she'd held onto throughout their impromptu ceremony and said, "We need to get this to the Department of Mysteries. Once everything is in place, then we can spring our trap."

Padma looked between Harry and her sisters in love, "I need to be caught up on everything that's going on, don't you think?"

Luna and Hermione nodded gravely, "Yes, but first there's something that we have to do that's even more immediate and more important."

Padma arched a brow, "And that is?"

"We _all_ have a marriage to consummate, and I know the perfect place!"

And three laughing brides dragged their not so reluctant groom off to a day full of wedded bliss.

Author's note: Why is Padma so keen to be in the pudding club, and why is Luna helping her? Is Hermione aware of her sister-in-love's mechanizations? If so, does she approve?

Inquiring minds want to know…

N!


	9. Chapter 9: Passing the Baton

Chapter 9 – Passing the Baton

The four newlyweds descended two floors and stood before the prefect's bathroom. Harry was about to give the password when Luna sing-songed "Sandalwood."

"Hold on," Harry said, "I know the password because I'm Gryffindor's Quidditch Captain, Hermione and Padma are prefects. How is it that you have access?"

"Oh, I've been coming here since my second year. Some of my housemates thought it would be funny to hide my clothes while I was in the shower, and when I went looking for them the Grey Lady decided it would be better if I could bathe somewhere else."

"Where were you looking for your clothes, Luna?" Hermione asked.

"Oh, wherever, the common room, the main corridors leading to and from Ravenclaw, the side hallways."

"And what were you wearing while looking?"

"Why, nothing. The pranksters didn't even leave me a robe or a towel. I think Mr. Filch was quite cross, as I was dripping water everywhere. He didn't say anything though, he just kind of stared, you know? Oh, and drooled.

"So Lady Ravenclaw gave me the password to the prefect's bath, and has been giving me the passwords ever since."

Padma and Hermione pulled Luna into a tight embrace, "Never again, Luna, no one will ever be mean to our sister again."

Harry joined them and added, "And if anyone tries, they won't like the consequences."

Luna smiled, gave her spouses a tight embrace each, then ran to the faucets and began opening them one by one until the pool was rapidly filling with steaming water and white bubbles.

As the bubbles rose Luna returned to her lovers and said, "You take care of Harry, I've got our goddess here."

Like bath attendants of old, Luna removed Padma's clothing while Hermione did the same for Harry.

Once denuded, the couple rather shyly embraced. They kissed, and both groaned as Padma swiveled her upper body slightly, caressing Harry's torso with her soft, warm breasts and stiff nipples.

Harry grasped Padma by her magnificent arse cheeks, on in each hand and pulled up. The Sinhalese beauty wrapped her legs about his waist and Harry carried her into the warm, sudsy water.

The wet, warm, slick bubbles caressed them as he descended the steps and Padma kissed him, _hungrily. _

Harry carried her to where the water was chest high (for him), and he lifted his bride out of the water so that she sat on the fluffy towel that Luna had placed there earlier. This placed Padma's open thighs at the perfect level for a meticulous oral assessment.

She moaned as Harry leaned forward and kissed her nether lips with all the open mouthed tongue-probing ardor he'd shown when kissing her other lips.

Moans became gasps which became shrieks and Harry teased climax after stunning climax from his beautiful bride.

"N-no more, no more!" she gasped.

He smiled and pulled her back into the water, kissing her soundly.

From the look on Harry's face it was a good bet that Padma had grabbed his todger when her hand had disappeared from the surface of the water and growled, "This. In me. Now!"

Harry moved them to a slightly shallower part of the pool, where the water was just waist high, and had her hold onto the side of the pool as he lined up his erection with her more than ready opening.

"Welcome home, Harry Potter."

"I feel very much at home, Padma Potter."

She _"squeed!"_ at the sound of her married name and flung her arms around him. They bounced happily in the shallow water as Hermione and Luna looked on.

"Oh I am going to have to try that!" Hermione said.

Luna indicated the clothes she still had on, "Not dressed like that you won't."

Hermione laughed and said, "Need a hand?"

Luna smiled, "Two, whenever I can get them."

The sisters-in-love helped each other out of their clothing, nuzzling and kissing as they did, until it was a very randy pair that jumped into the deep end.

Hermione came up sputtering, she hadn't realized the deep end was _that_ deep. Luna swam behind her, and guided the brunette to slightly shallower water, where they kissed and caressed and fondled each other to a warm, loving mutual climax.

"Magic fingers." Hermione sighed.

"Oh, yes!" Luna agreed

Harry bounced by with Padma still holding on to him with her arms and her legs.

"How do you like married life so far?" he asked, smirking.

"Bliss." Hermione said, with a dreamy smile.

"Sheer bliss." Luna agreed.

The two witches embraced, and no one noticed Luna's face clouding over as she thought; _we need to enjoy this while we can._

)O(

Monday evening Harry convened the crucial Potter's Commando meeting.

Luna and Hermione quietly distributed large, flat boxes to each of the members.

Neville opened his first.

"Blimey, Harry!"

In each box was a hooded cloak of basilisk hide. The hide had been worked by expert elfin tanners so that it was supple as suede, and no heavier than a winter's weight cloak.

Each of the matte-black cloaks was easily worth the price of a new house.

The priceless armor was augmented by matching gauntlets and boots.

Ron received his with shaking hands.

"T-thanks, Hermione." He said, "I recon it's time to put away childish things, eh?"

Hermione smiled and nodded.

If Pansy was surprised at the gift Harry had given her bond-mate, she nearly passed out as Luna handed her a box of her own.

Both Longbottoms fell to their knees and pledged their families to the Ancient and Noble House of Potter-Black.

The rest of the Commandos quickly followed suit.

Luna, Hermione and Padma, already hand-fasted and mate-bonded accepted their liegemen and women with a simple, "Thank you" as they pulled the commandos to their feet.

Hermione held up her protean-charmed galleon, "Sometime in the next few days, your coin will begin to vibrate like this."

The triple 'buzz, buzz, buzz' pattern repeated itself ten times.

Luna added, "Have your coin on your person at all times, day and night. Keep your wands and cloaks close. When you feel the coins buzz it means the portkey has been primed. It will take ten seconds to activate."

Harry spoke last, "You will be transported to a place were we will await the arrival of the death eaters that Malfoy plans to let into Hogwarts. They will kill anyone not in death eater robes or masks."

He grew deadly serious, and said in a voice barely above a whisper, "These people will be using deadly curses, answer them in kind - if you can't or won't kill to defend yourselves or your fellow commandos, leave now and no one will think any less of you."

Luna knew that Harry would have preferred it if someone did leave.

Padma, tears running down her cheeks, returned Harry's gift.

"I-I can't take a human life, not even to protect my own. I'm _so_ sorry Harry."

Luna embraced her Sinhalese wife, "Don't be sorry, sweetie, Harry wishes he could afford to have the strength of your convictions as well."

Harry joined the embrace, "This does not diminish you in our eyes, Padma. I think you are the bravest person in this room."

He had a difficult time convincing Padma to keep the armor, "Please don't make me invoke my authority as your lord and husband – I will be safer if I know you are protected."

"What?"

"Knowing you're safe gives me one less thing to worry about when the shit hits the fan."

Padma grudgingly agreed, then thanked her husband by way of a kiss.

No one else demurred.

Potter's commandoes would be comprised of the original "Ministry Six," augmented by Dean, Lavender and Pansy.

Harry re-set the Room of Requirement for the weekly Defense Association meeting.

The core group, made up entirely of commandos, took the rest of the association through their paces.

Suddenly a hush fell over the assembled students.

The headmaster strolled in, greeting some students warmly, nodding to others.

"Please, don't let my presence here interrupt what is obviously a very productive and relevant class."

The sparring partners re-formed and resumed practicing shielding and dodging.

"Excellent, Harry, you've impressed on all of your students the advantages to dodging a spell rather than blocking it."

"Some spells can't be blocked, sir."

"True. Would you show me what you've learned, and are passing on?"

"Um, sure, Professor." Harry looked around for a suitable sparring partner.

Dumbledore smiled, "If you're looking for a dueling partner, I can accommodate you."

"But sir, you're not um, well, feeling your best and your hand…"

"I only need one, Harry."

"Very well, just so you know, Professor. We don't duel here in the DA, we spar. The only concession we allow is to make sure each sparring partner knows who he or she is fighting."

"Oh?" The Headmaster asked, looking mischievous, "Like this?"

Saying this Dumbledore shot a wordless stinging hex at Harry's legs, which he just barely dodged.

Harry, getting into the spirit of a friendly sparring match, smiled and said, "Just so," while delivering a stinger of his own, which the Professor, not being as nimble or quick as Harry, shielded.

Spells began to fly in earnest, Harry, using his youth and athleticism to his full advantage, seemed to literally bounce off the walls as he dodged, spun and danced all around the Headmaster.

All other matches stopped mid-spell as Harry and the Headmaster seemed to fill the room with spells, counter-spells, spectacular dodges and reverberating gongs as hexes of increasing speed and power forced the other members of the DA to retreat behind the solid barriers hastily erected by the core group.

Dumbledore was getting visibly fatigued, but managed to throw his signature _aguamenti_ sphere, catching Harry up in a vortex of swirling water, which Harry apparated out of – the problem was, this left Harry stumbling, sputtering and too disoriented to mount a good offense, a sloppy defense was the best he could do, and casting a quick and dirty reflective protego. When a powerful, concussive hex gonged against his hastily constructed shield Harry followed up with the magical equivalent of the claymore anti-personnel mine – a blasting hex that essentially slammed everything within ninety-degrees of a compass heading. He sent it off in the general direction of Dumbledore's hex.

Panting, Harry shouted, "Did I get him?"

There was no answer.

Albus, Percival, Wolfric, Brian Dumbledore had collapsed, gasping like a fish, to the floor.

"Fawkes!" Harry screamed.

The Phoenix appeared in a ball of flame as Harry shouted, "Get the Headmaster to Madam Pomfrey, immediately!"

And so it was that a startled Poppy Pomfrey found a panting, sweating, magically exhausted Albus Dumbledore sharing her bed, where she'd just turned in for the evening after a long, tiring day.

"Harry?" Hermione said, pointing to the Headmaster's wand on the floor, "Professor Dumbledore dropped something."

Harry took it, then nearly fell over as the Elder Wand bonded to its new master.

"Class, dismissed!" Harry shouted as he stumbled for the door.

No one, save Luna, Padma and Hermione, moved.

Luna heard the whispers as she exited.

"_Chosen One."_

Hogwart's first foursome in many a year entered the hospital wing just as a flustered Madam Pomfrey was putting the Headmaster to bed.

"He'll be alright," she said, knowing why they had come, "He's clinically exhausted, physically, spiritually, and magically."

Luna nodded, "His body is very frail, and he's recently had an epiphany that required a great deal of introspection, and, well, he dueled Harry."

Poppy looked horrified, "Dueled? Whatever was he thinking, what were _you_ thinking, Mister Potter?"

"It was a friendly exhibition. Professor Dumbledore assured me he was fit enough, and he seemed most eager to see what we were doing in the DA."

"Quite right, Harry," the frail voice of the headmaster insisted, "it was in no way your fault."

Harry moved to Dumbledore's bedside, "Still, I'm sorry, sir. I had no idea…"

"There's nothing to apologize for, Harry. Chalk it up to the foolishness of an old man who believes that, because he is surrounded by youth and vitality, that he must therefore be young as well."

A bit of the old twinkle showed in Dumbledore's eyes as he said, "I hope you will remember that when you get to be as old as I."

"You dropped your wand, sir."

"Ah, there, I'm afraid, you're wrong, Harry."

"Sir?"

"That is not my wand, that is to say, that is _no longer_ my wand."

"I can't take your wand, sir."

"Don't think of it as taking my wand; rather think of it as the passing of the baton."

"Sir?"

"You have not taken it, you've won it, and that, you will have to admit, is a completely different matter. Tell me, Harry, when you picked up your new wand, did it not let itself be known to you?"

"I felt something, but I thought I was just anxious to get here, to make sure you were alright."

"Miss Lovegood?"

Luna held up her left arm, revealing the green ivy tattoo, "I'm Mrs. Potter, sir."

"Oh? Congratulations, Mrs. Potter, have you shared the Tale of the Three Brothers with your husband then?"

Padma visibly paled, "You can't mean…"

"Yes I do, Miss Patil."

Padma raised her left arm as well, "Mrs. Potter."

Dumbledore's eyebrows disappeared beneath his hairline, "Two wives, Harry?"

Hermione raised her arm.

"Are there any more?" the Headmaster asked, the old twinkle returning.

"No sir," Harry assured him, "and no plans to include anymore."

"Getting back to the point, Harry, have your magical spouses explained the significance of the Deathly Hallows to the muggle born and raised in your new family?"

Luna was uncharacteristically silent, but her mind was working furiously, trying to calculate the probabilities with three powerful new factors added to the overall equation.

The Wand of Power, _The_ Cloak of Invisibility, the Resurrection Stone.

Was it any wonder Luna fainted?

Luna came to in a hospital bed with a worried Harry bent over her, holding her hand.

"Sweetheart, are you alright? How do you feel?"

"A-a little dizzy."

Poppy frowned as she waved her white healer's wand over Luna and asked, "Mister Potter, would you excuse us for just a moment?"

Harry, surprised, nodded and stepped back while the Hogwarts healer erected a privacy ward around herself and her patient.

"Care to explain why you're on a fertility potion dear?"

"Trying to ensure the continuation of the Potter line, Madam Pomfrey. Padma is also on the potion."

"Well then, I suppose you and Harry will be happy to know that you have a little visitor, make that _two_ little visitors on the way."

"Two?"

"Yes dear, twins."

"Boys or girls?"

"Too early to tell dear, we'll be able to tell in a month, six weeks to be absolutely sure. Shall we share the happy news?"

Luna thought for a moment, "No, not just yet, please. I promise I'll tell Harry."

Poppy looked stunned, "Is this not what you both wanted?"

"It is," Luna assured her, "I just want to give him a nice surprise."

"Are the other Missus Potters also on the potion?"

"Padma is, Hermione is on the other potion, the contraceptive, for now."

"I suppose I should see Mrs. Padma Potter, then?"

Luna nodded.

Madam Pomfrey stepped out of the privacy ward and asked Padma to join them.

Luna took Padma's hand and said, "Success."

The Sinhalese beauty wanted to shriek, "Are you sure?"

"Very sure," Poppy said, "twins."

"Check me, please?" Padma asked.

Poppy nodded, waved a diagnostic crystal, then smiled. "Congratulations, Mrs. Potter, and welcome to the pudding club."

"Can we tell Harry?" Padma asked.

"Let's wait until we know if we have boys or girls or both, shall we?"

"Can we tell Hermione?"

Luna thought for a moment, "We'll tell her first, then Harry, when we know for sure."

"Okay!"

Luna was worried, Padma's exuberance would be sure to give them away.

"Madam Pomfrey," Luna asked, "could you give us just a moment, please?"

The healer nodded and left.

"Give us a kiss, Padma."

As the Sinhalese girl bent to kiss her sister-in-love and co-bride Luna's fingers found the pressure points on Padmas temple, ear and jaw and performed the memory charm that would leave her befuddled for a few minutes as certain memories were removed for storage in Luna's own brain.

When they left the privacy area both were happy, but Padma couldn't remember exactly why.

Luna accepted a hug and kisses from Harry and Hermione, and then sighed.

_It's all for the best._

_The end justifies the means._

_I'm trying for the best possible outcome here._

_The greatest good…_


	10. Chapter 10: The Pudding Club

Chapter 10 – The Pudding Club

"I can't, I can't!"

"It's alright, Draco, you'll sort it out. I have faith in you."

"If I can't make it work, he'll k-kill me."

"If you die, you can always share my toilet, Draco, you know that."

"Humph," Harry whispered, "She made me the same offer back in second year, I'll bet she says that to all the boys."

Luna and Harry stood just outside the door to the second floor girl's lavatory, taking the opportunity to cuddle beneath his father's invisibility cloak while eavesdropping on 'ferret boy.'

"He's getting desperate." Harry murmured.

"Oh, he's beyond desperate," Luna answered, "it's just lucky Professor Slughorn took Dumbledore's advice and checked his personal potions and potables for poisons – someone might have died."

"Yeah, and he was just about to open that meade."

"I know Draco planted that, if we could just prove it."

"Like with fingerprints?"

"Fingerprints?"

"Yeah, muggle technology, no two people have exactly the same fingerprints, not even identical twins."

Luna thought for a moment. "If they have different fingerprints then they're not identical, are they?"

Harry chortled, and from inside the room they heard "Who's there?"

The invisible couple moved silently away from the door just as it swung open and Draco, looking murderous, scanned the hallway, wand in hand.

"Don't go Draco, I'll keep you company, I'll _listen_ to you." Myrtle pleaded.

"Bloody useless bint!" Malfoy muttered under his breath as he stormed down the hallway heading up to the seventh floor for yet another attempt to make the portal work.

Harry and Luna removed the cloak and entered the bathroom.

"Hello Myrtle."

The ghost girl smiled from her perch in the window, "Two more visitors, all in the same day! If this keeps up I'm going to need a social calendar."

Luna said, "I just wanted to say that you're doing a wonderful thing, keeping poor Draco company, offering a sympathetic ear."

Myrtle floated to the floor, "The other Slytherins have been positively _ghastly_ toward him, his da's in Azkaban and apparently 'You know Who' has taken over his house and his mum is afraid."

"So Draco is not the Prince of Slytherin anymore, eh?" Harry asked.

"No, he's had to petition his godfather, Professor Snape, for protection from his own classmates. Apparently, the Dark Lord has threatened him and his whole family, but he, brave boy, is fighting back, trying to fix a portal and help his mother escape so they can both get away."

The ghost girl brightened up, "Can you help him with his portal problem? I know you're very bright!"

"Between myself and Hermione and Padma, I think we can get a portal working – tell me, has he said anything about where the other portal will be?"

Myrtle thought for a moment, "It _was_ at Borgin and Burkes, but they've moved it, now it's in his bedroom at Malfoy Manor."

With that, the last piece of the puzzle fell into place. They had the who, the death eaters, a what, the portals, both of them, a where, starting and destination points for the portal, the how and why were givens, the only thing missing was the when.

"Myrtle, how does Draco communicate with his mother?" Luna pressed.

"Why?"

"We want to be able to let her know when she can come through to Hogwarts." Harry suggested.

"Oh, they use charmed journals. Whatever Draco writes on his right-hand page, is copied to the left-hand page in his mother's journal. Her responses appear on the next page. They write to each other everyday – he's such a good son."

"We'll be in the Prefect's Bath later if you'd like to visit." Luna suggested.

"What, the two of you, together?" the ghost giggled, "That's so naughty!"

"I'm sure you've seen worse than three hand-fasted brides entertaining their husband in the bath."

Myrtle's eyes nearly bugged out, "T-three?"

Luna smiled, "Um hum, we'll be there around seven."

As they left Myrtle's bathroom, Harry smiled at his wife and said, "Who knew a ghost could hyperventilate?"

Luna's expression turned serious, "Time to go to the Department of Mysteries."

The 'Golden Quartet' flooed directly from the Headmaster's fireplace to the office of Algernon Croaker, senior unspeakable.

Luna handed Algernon the transfigured chamber pot.

"Odd shape for a portal." He mused.

Hermione reversed the transfiguration and the unspeakable nearly jumped back, "Sir William Gull's cabinet!"

"Who?" Harry asked.

"Sir William Gull, physician to the court of Queen Victoria. To the muggles of the day he was better known as "Jack the Ripper." A squib who brutally murdered muggle prostitutes in Whitehall in the late 1880s. The muggle lawmen never caught up with him, but the aurors of the day did. Apparently he used this portal to move back and forth between the East End and Kensington.

"Gull was captured in the spring of 1891 and the portal-cabinets were taken to Hogwarts for study. They disappeared fifty years ago and haven't been seen since."

Harry explained, "One was at Borgin and Burkes, the other – this one - was still hidden in an unused room at Hogwarts."

"Do they still work?"

Hermione tapped a single runic cluster on the left side of the cabinet, "Change this _isa_ to _eihwaz _and it will."

Algernon Croaker shook his head, "If this works…"

Luna said, "I can see several possible futures where this _will_ work, spectacularly well, and several where is doesn't. Everything we do from now until the end of the week must be with the former in mind."

She looked meaningfully at everyone in the room, "Failure is not an option."

)O(

Returning to Ravenclaw Tower Luna pulled Padma into a tight embrace, "Soon, love, very soon. Now remember, your job will be to alert the DA while we're at the Department of Mysteries – if things go badly there, not saying they will, but, random factors are what they are, if we fail, the DA will be the last line of defense for Hogwarts."

Both girls had tears lining their faces as they faced an uncertain future.

Luna's eyes unfocused for a moment and she whispered, "The die is cast, there's no turning back now."

)O(

Draco, sweat dripping from his brow, swore at the cabinet, he had his mother's notes and illustrations in his journal, "All the runes are correct, even that subtle omission that I missed before has been repaired. Why won't it _bloody_ work?"

"Because it's a transfigured chamber pot?" Luna's disembodied voice asked.

Draco spun and pointed his wand in the direction he _thought_ the voice came from, "_Avada…"_

"_Owie!"_ Harry said, softly.

And Draco fell to the ground screaming as every joint in his body hyper-extended. Not enough to tear ligaments or tendons, but excruciatingly painful nonetheless.

Harry, Hermione and Luna un-disillusioned themselves.

"That's the problem with a killing curse, Draco." Harry said, "It takes too long to articulate a six-syllable hex."

He knelt down and patted the writhing Slytherin's robes until he found the journal.

As Draco whimpered, Luna placed his journal atop one of her own and cast the duplication charm.

As the content from one journal was copied to the other Hermione said, "The good news, Draco, is that you won't remember the worst of the pain. The bad news is that you will be sore for two weeks – _if_ you live that long."

A small bell 'dinged' and Luna replaced Draco's journal. She gave him a small kiss on his forehead, practicing for when she, gods willing, would be a mother herself.

Draco stared at his three tormentors. His expression was equal parts pained, confused and pleading as Luna said, "Obliviate."

"You do that just a little too well, sweetheart." Harry said, jokingly.

Luna froze, then saw the playful look on her husbands face. She let out a relived sigh and said, "Really? I think I need more practice."

)O(

It was the work of a moment to de-code Draco's journal, as he'd printed the translation key in the inside back cover.

"Like no one would think to look there." Hermione quipped.

They took turns reading the journal aloud as either Hermione or Padma decoded the true meanings of each of the nonsensical sounding phrases.

Over and over, Narcissa Malfoy pleaded with her son to resist taking the dark mark, for "The price of such an act would surely scar an otherwise pristine soul."

"I may have to vomit." Harry said.

Draco kept 'private' notes in the margins, apparently, margin notes didn't transcribe to the other journal.

_Can't believe this shite,_ he wrote, _can I possibly be related to either of these people? The sperm donor languishes in Azkaban while the egg donor no doubt puts out for every swinging todger in the manor. It's a wonder she even bothers to wear knickers._

A later entry stated, _Took the mark, still burns like hell, but the reward was worth it. She begged and cried as I tied her to the bedposts, but she bloody screamed as I tore into her virgin fanny, the look on her face as I held the knife to her throat was priceless, I felt like God – I had the power of life and death over that stinking mudblood cunt. When I cut her I came again and again, I can't fucking wait til the next revel!!!_

_That whiny bint Myrtle knows nothing useful. Fifty fucking years in this castle and she hasn't learned a single secret passageway into the headmaster's office. I can't wait to feed her useless ectoplasmic twat to the first dementor I see. She was worthless in life and is even more worthless now._

Luna thought for a moment, if they were to share these journal entries with Myrtle, then they would have another ally in the struggle against the Dark Lord.

"Let's be sure to keep this information away from Myrtle," Hermione suggested, "it would break her heart and she's had enough pain in her life, um, death, I mean _afterlife."_

That evening the foursome languished in warm, clear water enjoying post-coital bliss.

Hermione smirked, "If the muggle world ever finds out about those potions, then the magical world will never know a moment's peace."

Harry, finishing his second two-liter bottle of water, nodded and groaned.

He was nigh on exhausted, owing to the endurance and replenishment potions, not to mention the soothing balm for friction burns – he'd cum like a hosepipe three times already.

His head was slightly stuffy and he was dehydrated, but other than that he had no complaints. The soothing waters helped him catch his second wind.

"How long are these potions supposed to last?" he asked.

"I'm not sure," Padma answered. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, because…"

Hermione groaned, "You have _got_ to be kidding."

Harry floated to the surface, at full mast, _still._

Padma sighed, "When I tell my _amma_, my mother, about this she is going to go spare with jealousy."

Luna smiled, "Let her join us in this bath, she won't be quite so jealous when Harry wears her out."

Padma looked positively predatory, "Well I, for one, don't plan to let this one go to waste, come _here!"_

As Harry and Padma splash, splash, splashed in the shallow end of the pool Hermione asked, "How soon, Luna?"

"Tomorrow, have you given any thought to our suggestion?"

"I don't know if I'm ready to have a baby yet, perhaps we could magically freeze some of Harry's sperm?"

Luna looked scandalized, "What?"

"It's a common muggle practice, eggs and sperm can be preserved ex-vivo, by freezing, then the thawed gametes are combined and you have test-tube babies."

Luna shook her head, "And you thought blibbering humdingers were fanciful."

"No, Luna, I promise, it's a well documented, tried and true method of conception."

"If you say so, I believe it."

Hermione smirked, now the shoe was on the other foot, Luna didn't really believe her.

Luna asked, "How long would this process take?"

"About a week, I should think."

"We don't have that much time."

"We could collect and freeze the sperm in a single afternoon."

Luna looked pensive, _Why didn't Hermione mention this before? It would have been so simple._

"I think we'll have to do this the old fashioned way, Hermione. We'll be at the Department of Mysteries tomorrow afternoon."

"Are you sure?"

Luna nodded.

Hermione lightly bit her lower lip and whispered, "Do you have the potions?"

Luna reached over the pool deck for her beaded bag and pulled out two vials.

"This one first." She said, handing a blue vial to Hermione.

"_Ughh!_ Why do potions have to taste bitter?"

Luna shrugged and handed her the second one, a red vial, "Now this one."

Hermione threw the second dose to the back of her throat, then swam over to the shallows where Padma floated, sexually exhausted, limp as a dishrag.

"I hope you left some for me sister-in-love."

"Gasp! He's all yours – _Pant!_ Hermione!"

Harry growled as Hermione flowed into his arms, "Slowly, love, we have all night."

As she settled onto his unflagging member she asked, "Harry, what would you say if I told you that I'm at my most fertile time of the month, and I'm off the potion."

Harry looked shocked, "You _want_ to get pregnant?"

Hermione nodded, "Yes, yes I do, I want to have your baby, please?"

She wouldn't have believed Harry's todger could get any larger – or harder, but she soon found herself impaled on a pulsing log.

"Oh! I think at least part of you likes that idea!"

"I love you Hermione Jane Granger Potter, and once this business with Riddle is over I would be honored to be the father of your children."

Luna sidled up to his back and asked, "Does that go for me as well, Harry?"

"Yes! And Padma! Just as soon as Tom Riddle is pushing up daisies – big ugly ones – I will be happy to help you repopulate magical Britain."

Caught up in the pure sensuality of the moment Luna asked, "W-what if I told you I, _we_, had already taken your seed into our fertile wombs, and were even now, carrying your unborn babies."

Her timing could have been better – especially as far as Hermione was concerned.

Harry stopped his delicious thrusting.

Gently grasping Hermione under her arms he lifted his bewildered bride up and away from his unflagging member.

Without a word Harry exited the pool, donned a bathrobe, and left the Prefect's bath.

If there could have been a sound-effect to describe Luna's expression, it would have been that of a glass wall shattering.

She stepped out of the water, pulled on a bathrobe and dropped to the stone tiles like a marionette with its strings cut.

Curling into a fetal ball she lay on the floor, sobbing.

Hermione was flabbergasted; she looked at her other co-wife and asked, "Padma, did you know about this?"

The Sinhalese beauty shook her head, but looked puzzled. "I feel like I _should_ have known, how is it that I can't be sure?"

"B-because I-I o-obliv-_obliviated_ you!" Luna wailed.

"What!"

"I-if Harry knows we're pregnant, then h-he w-won't let us be there when he has to face _him."_

Luna uncoiled and lay on the cold stone floor, face up, tears streaming from her eyes. "If he k-keeps us away, prevents us from standing by his side, his chances of surviving V-Voldemort drop by half – he _needs_ us there!"

She turned tortured eyes to Hermione and Padma and sobbed, "What have I done?"

At that moment Hermione came into her own as the alpha of Harry's wives.

Her eyes narrowed and her voice edged in steel she said, "Get up, get dressed, _now."_

Padma put a hand on Hermione's shoulder, "Maybe we should…"

Hermione spun and said, none too gently, "Get dressed."

Following her own advice she found her robe and threw it on, cinching the fasteners on front and not bothering with anything else. Hermione threw the robes to her co-wives and said, "Don't bother putting on anything else, just the robe."

Padma shrugged and slipped hers on, "Can we at least wear shoes?"

Hermione nodded, "We'll have to leave the castle so, yes, put on your shoes."

Spinning on Luna she asked, "Aren't you dressed yet? It's only a robe for God's sake!"

Taken aback by Hermione's domineering tone, Luna asked, "Who died and left you in charge?"

"Hermione pulled Luna roughly up by the arm and said, "It's not who _died_, it's who _will_ die that you should be worried about – we have to find Harry, now!"

"Where will he be?" Padma asked.

"I'm the expert on all things Harry, and I can tell you that he's going to look for a sympathetic ear, a _male_ ear."

"Surely he won't go to Dumbledore." Luna said, afraid of the headmaster's influence.

Perhaps it was just a coincidence that Hermione thought of the headmaster as a manipulative old bastard, or perhaps, being bonded to Harry and equally bonded to each other meant that the girls shared each other's thoughts from time to time, but Hermione said, "No, the last thing Harry wants now is to be with someone who has manipulated him."

Luna's cheeks burned with shame.

Hermione led Padma and Luna out the back door and marched straight to Hagrid's hut.

Smoke curled from the groundskeeper's chimney as the girls approached.

The three co-wives stopped at the sound of their husband's voice.

"I knew you'd know where to find me, Hermione." He said, jumping down from a low hanging limb to face his brides.

"Harry?" his best friend of six years asked, "Are you alright?"

"I will be, it's just a shock, y'know?"

Luna stepped forward and knelt on the cold, wet ground, tears streaming down both cheeks she cried, "I'm so sorry, Harry, I'm the victim of my own hubris.

"I see so many possibilities and probabilities that I assume that I know best. The problem is, knowing what will probably happen just doesn't work around you – random factors infest your life like nargles in mistletoe."

She sat back on her heels and look up at Harry, her eyes beseeching, "Let me confess, to you and to my sisters, and, if you want, we can a-annul our m-marriage."

"I love you, you know?" Harry said, "That's why it hurts so much, you don't trust me to make my own decisions."

Tears continued to flow freely down Luna's cheeks as she explained, "There's a better than even chance that you w-won't sur-_survive_ the battle. I wanted to ensure a Potter heir." She looked up into his troubled green eyes, "Even a bastard child can inherit if there are no legitimate heirs, and I wanted you to live on in your sons and daughters."

She took a deep breath, "I was overjoyed when you hand-fasted us. That was one of the only times when a random happenstance worked in our favor. Now the children we carry will be Potters by name as well as by blood."

"Why couldn't you just tell me?" Harry asked, the pain evident in his voice.

"Nineteen out of twenty-five possible futures have you waiting until after Voldemort is dead before even considering children, but none of those futures are possible if you _die."_

Harry nodded, "It's true, I would rather wait until the Dork Lard is dead before having children, but that decision has been taken away from me, hasn't it?"

Luna bowed her head and sobbed, "Yes, unless…"

"I know they're just a collection of cells right now, but I am anxious to meet them, and that won't happen if you take a 'morning after' draught."

Luna cried fresh tears, but these were tears of relief.

Harry nodded his head, as if coming to a conclusion, "Hermione, Padma? Do you have anything to add?"

"My sisters-in-love had nothing to do with my manipulations, Harry, if anyone is to be punished, cast from the family, then it should be me."

Harry asked again, "Hermione?"

"I'm just now learning about Luna's, um, _solutions_ to our unique situation."

"Padma?"

"I have to say that I'm not sure, my lord husband, Luna has admitted to, um, modifying my memories."

Luna looked up, very calm in the midst of the emotional storm surrounding them, "Padma was so happy to hear that both she and I are pregnant that I 'filtered' her memories – she would have told you, not in words but by her sheer joy."

Padma smiled, "I would be surprised if I am _not_ in the pudding club."

Harry fell to his knees in front of his kneeling wife, "Luna, I love you. I can't, I won't lie to you, I'm _so_ mad at you right now. We should all be back in the Room of Requirement, warm and content after a full day of making love. Instead we're kneeling in the mud…" Harry looked around, "…well, at least I hope it's mud. With the critters Hagrid keeps around here I wouldn't be too sure."

A ghost of a smile touched Luna's lips.

Harry continued, "I think I understand why you did what you did, I just wish you could have found it in your heart to talk to me first, before stage-managing our circumstances to fit your idea of the ideal outcome.

"If you had spoken with me first, I would have told you the same thing Sirius told me."

Luna frowned, "Sirius?"

The memory of his godfather falling through the veil still hurt. Harry stared at the ground, silently, for a long while.

After a fair few moments, moments that tortured Luna's conscience, he spoke softly, "One of the things Sirius told me, the Christmas before he died, was that a lot of babies are born during and just after wartime, and that his one regret was that he'd never fathered a child of his own, someone to carry on the Black name. Babies are precious, Luna, and planned or not, they are a miracle and should be celebrated."

Harry got to his feet and helped his Moon Child to rise as well, "It's earlier than I'd planned, but that's okay. Hey, haven't you noticed? There's a war on."

Luna embraced both her spouses and cried tears of absolute relief.

"I love you Harry."

"No more than I love you, Luna. I'm still mad at you, you know."

He gathered Padma into the embrace as well, "And how about you, our goddess incarnate, are you on the nest as well?"

She looked confused for just a moment and then said, "Apparently."

"Now, let's see if we can get Hermione on board." Harry said, as he practically ran, dragging the laughing brunette along as they crossed the courtyard, then climbed seven flights of stairs to the Room of requirement.

Harry's eyes practically bulged as the three witches removed their robes and were left in nothing but their shoes, which they quickly kicked off.

The brunette missile tackled Harry on the king-sized bed and practically ripped his robe off – imagine her surprise when she saw he was wearing the same undergarments that they had been wearing on the way to Hagrids – socks and shoes and nothing else.

Hermione impaled herself on Harry's throbbing member.

Bushy hair teased into a curly halo around Hermione's head as she rode him for the better part of an hour, she'd stopped counting her climaxes out loud after five and just concentrated on clinging with her arms and legs as Harry did his best to fulfill her wishes.

Author's note:

I had prepared a half-page rant to respond to a very few negative "reviews," but then I thought, nope, no matter how vocal, the negatives don't even come close to outweighing the positives.

One reviewer in particular did a fantastic job – he well and truly ripped chapter nine to shreds. But then he gave valid reasons why it sucked, and offered suggestions to make it better – which I plan to follow.

I'm not looking for a bunch of 'attaboyz,' but I am glad of honest opinions and helpful input.

For those of you who still want to read and offer _constructive_ criticism for the stuff I write, God and the Goddess bless you.

You are the readers I'm writing for.

N!


	11. Chapter 11: Confessions

Chapter 11 – Confessions

Myrtle Malone, AKA "Moaning Myrtle," spirited into the Room of Requirement and grinned at the naked people piled on the large bed. She didn't make a sound as she scanned the scene. Cloaks littered the floor, along with four pairs of socks and shoes – and no other articles of clothing.

Luna watched the ghost girl and smiled. Not the distant, ethereal smile of constant distraction, but a beaming manifestation of pure joy.

A great weight had been taken off her soul since her confession to Harry, and the result was better than anything she could have predicted.

Harry forgave her.

She felt she could pass over to the afterlife contented now, because she'd already been through hell.

_If I fall, perhaps I can return as a phantom and still help Harry anyway I can._

Luna carefully slipped out of bed and pulled on the first robe she found on the floor – it was Harry's, and still smelled of him.

"Myrtle," she whispered, "can I ask you a few questions?"

Before the girl-spirit could answer, Luna led them out of the room and down an empty corridor.

"Myrtle, when you died, how did you become a ghost?"

The spirit pondered for a long time before she answered, "At first, I just didn't realize I was dead. I 'woke up' in my bathroom, walked down to the great hall and sat at my table. I didn't understand why a plate didn't appear before me. When I asked one of my classmates about it she screamed and ran.

"Later on the Hufflepuff Friar took me under his arm, literally, and showed me how to be a ghost."

Luna frowned, "Did any of the other ghosts know they had, um, passed on?"

Myrtle shrugged, "Sir Nicholas knew, after all, he'd been on the chopping block. Lady Helena Ravenclaw knew, her last memory was of the Bloody Baron stabbing her – repeatedly."

"So if a person dies violently, there's a good chance they'll become ghosts?"

"Violently and unjustly – those seem to be the key. Sir Nicholas was unjustly executed; Lady Ravenclaw and the Good Friar were murdered, as was I."

"And the Bloody Baron?" Luna asked.

"He's not allowed to move on until the Lady Helena does – he's tied to this plane for as long as she is."

"And what keeps you here, Myrtle?"

"Me? I'm just not ready to move on. It's like there's something left for me to do. Once that's done, I can cross over."

Luna nodded, "I think I understand. Thank you, Myrtle."

"You're welcome – are you going back to be naughty some more?"

With a wink and a smile Luna answered, "Oh I hope so!"

As she re-entered the Room of Requirement, Luna overheard Padma saying, "You have been the only wizard for me since first year, when my parents told me that they'd found my husband – some old friend of the family, a good business match. I told them to forget it, that I would be yours and no one else's."

Harry caressed the side of her face and she leaned into the palm of his hand like a cat.

He asked, softly, "What did your parents say?"

"That I was an ungrateful, evil daughter and that I would be stricken from the family for my willful disobedience."

"How old were you when this happened?"

"Twelve."

"What did _you_ say?"

"What could I say? I am the daughter of two very stubborn people. My father said I would have until my sixteenth birthday to bind my betrothal, or he would cast me from the family."

"Padma, your sixteenth birthday was last summer."

"I may have _hinted_ to my father that I was being considered as third wife or concubine to an Ancient and Noble house."

"Have you told them we're married?"

"Last night, Harry, I sent Hedwig."

Padma leaned up on one elbow and said, "Some people might think that you and I became a couple too fast, but I've gambled my entire future on the slightest chance that you would have me in some capacity, wife, concubine, mistress – I didn't care, as long as I was with you. You have been the focus of my life since I was twelve. I knew better than to stalk you like Ginny Weasley…"

"Who looks disturbingly like my mum." Harry said with a shudder.

"That's why I've always been close, approachable, but not a hanger on." Padma said, "And see?" She held up her wrist, showing the bright green ivy tattoo, "My gamble paid off."

"I've always seen you as the Patil girl I'd most likely try for." Harry said, "You are so much; well, _deeper_, than your sister. And I've always been attracted to smart girls."

Padma kissed him soundly. When the kiss finally broke she whispered, "Whirlwind romance my arse! Too soon? I'd say it's about damn time!"

"How will your family feel about your co-wives?"

"They'll be thrilled – even more so when we start giving them light-skinned grandbabies!"

"I'm glad you told them, Padma. Nothing is more important than family."

Harry and Padma looked at Hermione, who smiled at her spouses. "I've no confessions to make, Harry, other than to say I can't imagine a better husband or wives – my parents might have a bit of trouble with the idea of polygamy, but if they do, I'll have to remind them that _you_ are my family now. If they want their _grandchildren_ to be part of their lives, they'll have to accept us, all of us, just as we are."

Luna unfastened her robe and let it fall to the ground.

"Are you still angry with me, Harry? No one could blame you if you were, _I_ wouldn't blame you."

Harry smiled, "Furious."

"Oh good, then you'll be taking it out on my poor, abused fanny again?"

Harry growled, "C'mere you!"

Luna shrieked and jumped onto Harry, straddling his hips and rubbing her wet sex against his growing member.

_Blessed Goddess, if this is punishment, _Luna thought,_ I'll have to be a naughty witch at least once a day, everyday!_

An hour later Luna had joined her co-wives in post-coital slumber as Harry stroked her hair.

He looked at the copy of Beedle the Bard on his nightstand and reflected on the meanings Luna and Padma had attributed to the Hallows of Death. If they were right, he was the rightful master of all three. He carefully reached over Padma to pick up the Resurrection Stone yet again.

The simple charcoal grey stone, inscribed with the symbol of the Hallows, felt no different now than when he'd first held it the week before.

The thought came unbidden, _Breathe on the stone._

He did.

Tiny sparkling wisps of something like milkweed fluff began to swirl, forming small vortices that seemed to draw substance from the very magic of the ancient castle. The first, strongest vortex coalesced into an undeniably feminine outline. Like an image through a camera's viewfinder, Lily Evans Potter came into focus, followed by her husband James and finally, Sirius.

All were smiling.

"We're all so proud of you, Harry." Lily said, "And _so_ looking forward to seeing our grandchildren."

"And grand-god-children." Sirius interjected.

"I can't bear the thought of losing them, any of them." Harry whispered hoarsely, "Surely there's some way to keep them safe."

Sirius placed a ghostly hand on Harry's shoulder, it felt oddly warm and solid, "The best way to keep them safe is to stay alive, if you go through with your plan you'll have less than a one-in-three chance of coming out alive."

"As long as I can take that bastard Riddle with me, I don't care."

Lily looked up into her son's eyes and said, "Ask Luna, she'll tell you that you need your family with you when you face Riddle – it's the one thing he will never understand, the idea that a real man puts the needs of those he cares for ahead of his own – that is, after all, the best definition of love."

James Potter added, "He'll go to his grave never understanding that simple truth, son."

"But, if I take them with me to face Riddle, they may die."

"Pup," Sirius interjected, "If you go without them, there's a better than even chance you will die, then who will protect your family? Even if you get lucky and take Tommy boy out, who will protect your loved ones from his followers? Remember Frank and Alice Longbottom. They were attacked after the first fall of the Dark Tosser."

"It's time to tell your loves the truth, and set things to rights." Lily said.

Harry nodded, then looked at the adults he'd loved more than anyone, and had lost, "The story says I shouldn't call you back from your afterlife, that you are at peace, and I am disturbing that peace by summoning you."

James shrugged, "Well, to be honest, we spend most of our time watching over you, so it's no bother."

Harry paled, "You mean you're watching us when we're, um…"

"Rutting like lust-charmed stoats?" Sirius offered, "Ow!"

Lily smacked him on the back of the head; proving that phantom pain is real when it's dealt to and by another phantom.

"We're supposed to be making him feel better, not uncomfortable. Harry, to us it's like watching two people dance, there's no reason for you to start being shy around your brides."

Lily wrinkled her nose mischievously and gave Harry her biggest smile yet, then said, "Besides, you are about to get into a spot of trouble with them, and the make up sex should be glorious!"

"_Mum!"_

She held her son's face in her hands, feather light but warm and comforting, "Talk to your witches, beg their forgiveness, and take your punishments like a man, my son."

She kissed him on the forehead, then stepped back.

"Feel free to call on us anytime, son." James said.

"Will the others see you too?"

Lily shook her head, "Perhaps, it's really up to you. You are, after all, master of the Hallows."

"I love you, mum, dad, Sirius."

"I love you."

"I love you."

I love you."

They all said in return, and, as Harry placed the stone back on his copy of Beedle the Bard, his dearly departed departed smilingly.

Harry sighed and carefully disentangled himself from Luna, who was particularly possessive of him as he slept. He picked up the scattered robes and shoes and socks and placed them on a side shelf.

Pulling a small pouch from the inside pocket of his robe, Harry sat on the side of the bed nearest Hermione.

"Sweetheart, I need you to wake up now."

"Padma, please wake up."

"Luna…"

"I'm awake, love, why does your mum think we're going to be cross with you?"

"I should have known you'd be privy to anything my mum would tell me."

Luna shrugged, "She loves us, all of us, but seems to have a special place in her heart for me. Now quit stalling."

Hermione and Padma were rubbing the sleep from their eyes and looking puzzled, "Harry?"

Harry emptied the contents of the small bag on the bedspread. Three golden galleons.

"What are these?"

"Your protean coins. I was going to prevent you from coming with me when I faced Riddle."

Luna paled, "You would have left us behind to be fitted for widow's weeds while you faced that maniac _without_ us?"

Harry bowed his head and nodded. When he looked up he saw his three wives looking…

Bemused.

Hermione said, "I told you so."

Luna nodded, "Never doubted you for a second, sis."

Padma scooped up the galleons and handed them back to Harry, "Keep these; we've already charmed replacement coins. Let them serve as a reminder that you will _never_ be able to outsmart one of us, let alone the three of us."

Harry sighed, "I guess I should have known better."

Three smug faces smiled back at him.

"But I-I'm afraid…"

Padma placed a reassuring hand on his arm, "We all are, Harry, but live or die we _will never abandon you!" _

"So that's why you wanted me here," came the unexpected voice of Myrtle Malone, "You wanted me to witness the anchoring ritual."

The three girls nodded.

"Harry, the anchoring ritual will bind our souls so that if any of us die, our spirits, our ghosts, will remain on the Earthly plane until we're all ready to pass on together."

The ritual was simple; each spouse repeated their oath to never abandon the others, even in death, witnessed by Myrtle, who added her pledge to be their guide to the afterlife, if it became necessary.

Luna smiled, "Myrtle, you do know that you've bound yourself to us in this life as well as the next?"

The little ghost nodded shyly, "If that's alright?"

Harry laughed and said, "Welcome to the family, Myrtle."

With an ear-splitting "Squeeeeeeeeeeeee!" the ghost girl flew around the room, propelled by joy, until she popped out of the room through the ceiling.

"Anyone hungry?" Harry asked.

"Starving." His three witches answered in unison.

"Shower, dress, then down to the great hall, we need to make sure the rest of the commandos are ready to go."

'Pop!'

Dobby appeared and conjured warm, fluffy bathrobes for the Potters.

Luna looked at the house elf, who quailed under her scrutiny.

She knelt down to be at eye level with him.

"Now might be the best time to tell him, little friend."

"Could youse be telling the Great Harry Potter, ma'am? I is not finding the words." Dobby said, pulling on his ears.

"Tell me what, Dobby?"

The little elf seemed to be longing for the days when he could punish himself with impunity. He looked at Luna, eyes pleading.

"Harry, Hermione," Luna said, "House elves are bound to mages. If they don't bond to a witch or wizard, then they die – slowly, painfully. When Dobby was freed he immediately bound himself to Harry."

Hermione glared at her husband.

"I didn't know!" he said in his defense.

"Hermione," Luna said, "If Dobby hadn't bonded, he would have died within a week, starved to death for the magic he needs for his very existence."

"But, how can we free the elves?"

"The simple answer is, we can't." Luna said, "But we can work toward ensuring better living and working conditions for our elf-friends."

Harry nodded, having been treated like a house elf himself, he felt uniquely qualified, "Elves thrive on work, it gives them purpose, a sense of worth. What we can do is try to put a mechanism in place to ensure that elves are not abused."

Hermione didn't like it, but she saw the logic in what Luna, Harry and Dobby were all telling her.

The Society for the Promotion of Elvin Welfare had a sea-change that day, placed in dry-dock, as it were, until Hermione could research elf-bondings more thoroughly.

They dressed in simple pullover shirts and jeans, then donned their basilisk hide boots and cloaks. Placing the matching gauntlets in their belts, the foursome headed down the stairs, Myrtle trailing happily behind.

When they entered the hall, all of the DA recruits stood. Harry looked shocked that the DA included a good third of the school. Moreover, a significant portion of Slytherin house declared itself aligned with Harry. Draco was nowhere to be seen, and Greg Goyle had stood along with Blaise when Harry and his witches entered the Great Hall.

Harry took his customary seat at Gryffindor and the DA reseated itself. The rest of Potter's Commandos: Ron, Ginny, Dean, Neville, Pansy, and Lavender all wearing their basilisk armor as well, sat across the table from the Potter family.

Hermione cast a privacy charm around the table that replayed innocuous conversations from six weeks before.

Without preamble, Harry said, "We're going back to the Department of Mysteries tomorrow."

Several eyes widened at the announcement.

"Once we're there, I'll polyjuice myself with a dose of 'Draco' and enter the portal. The other portal is in the Malfoy's home. That will establish the link between portals and I'll lead the first group of death eaters back through. From there the aurors in the Department of Mysteries will engage the enemy.

"When Tom Riddle comes through it is _imperative_ that no one attack him, it would be suicide and no one has my permission to kill themselves. I'm the only one who can beat him, understood?"

The whole assembly nodded.

"I only see one flaw in your plan, Harry." Neville said.

"Just one?" Harry quipped.

"How will you greet the lady of the house? How would the son and scion of a great house enter and greet his mother and important guests?"

"Um, I guess you're telling me a simple "Hi mum" won't do?"

"It takes years of training to pull of the kind of masquerade you're describing here."

"I'll have to fake it; there isn't time to train me up."

"No, Harry, if you go through then this whole plan is over before it begins."

Pansy sucked in her breath, then looked up at her husband with pleading eyes, "No!"

"It's got to be me, Panz." Neville said.

First year Neville Longbottom couldn't keep his toad Trevor in line, but this was five and a half years later, and this was _The_ Longbottom of the Noble House of Longbottom, and his word was law.

Harry nodded in approval. Neville's plan was the only way to go. "We'll run through the plan in two hours, in three hours the DA meets – we need everyone on high alert tomorrow morning."

Pansy Longbottom _'harrumphed'_ and took her husband by the hand.

"Fine!" She groused, "But for the next two hours, _My Husband_, your lordly arse is mine!"

Ginny and Dean looked at each other, nodded, then walked off at a more sedate pace.

Ron looked up to see a pensive Lavender looking back at him. Without a word they ran until they collided and clung to each other and cried.

"I was such a git!" Ron cried, "You were right, you were right about everything and I've been so miserable…"

Lavender silenced him with a kiss, then reached into the inner pocket of her robe and pulled out Ron's _Weasley is Our King_ bracelet and put it back on his wrist.

"C'mon mister, we have a lot of lost time to make up for and only two hours to do it!"

Harry looked at his witches who smiled back at him.

"It seems something's in the air at Hogwarts." He said, grinning.

Luna, who had been scribbling furiously on a small roll of parchment said, "If we go now we'll each have forty minutes with our green-eyed sex god, and eighty minutes with each other, we should be able to climax a minimum of six times in that two hour period if we begin within the next five minutes."

"Cor, it'll take us that long to get up to the seventh floor, and there's probably someone in the Room of Requirement by now." Harry said.

'Pop!'

"Miz Helga's guest rooms are ready for you Harry Potter, sir, Missus Potters ma'ams, they is the next door after the kitchen."

"Whatever you're paying that house elf, it's not enough." Padma observed as she dragged Harry off the bench heading in the direction of the aforementioned room.

When they got to it the door opened and even before it closed cloaks, boots, blouses and jeans went flying and a writhing ball of naked bits seemed to roll onto the large, circular bed where Padma was the first to claim Harry's most thrilling protruding part.

Luna and Hermione kept at least one hand on Harry and Padma even as they kissed, caressed and pleasured each other, each making the other more than ready for her turn.

When the soft gong sounded, signifying their time was up, each of the girls had been thouroughly pleasured.

Four sticky, sweat-sheened teens ran to the large shower to clean away the evidences of their whirlwind of sexual release, then managed to dress and run up to the seventh floor just in time to meet the rest of the commandos, who were more or less disheveled from their own activities.

Potter's Commandos entered the room and it immediately shifted to conference mode.

"How are we going to keep Draco from communicating with his mother while Neville is in Malfoy manor?"

Pansy reached into her robe and pulled Draco's journal from the inner pocket. "Draco was always pants at charms, and the ones he had on this journal were his pathetic best.

"I can copy Malfoy's handwriting well enough to fool his mummy to let her know her precious boy has succeeded. I might even accompany Draco to the Manor."

"No, that would only arouse suspicions."

All heads turned to the chandelier to see Myrtle sitting astride the support chain.

"I've read the last few entries, including the margin notes," she said, pointedly. "And he's told his mummy that Pansy has been mean to him and thrown him over for a Gryffindor."

Hermione's face grew red, "I'm sorry, Myrtle, I was afraid if you knew how Draco really felt about you it would make you upset."

"Upset? No." Myrtle said, "Pissed? Oh absolutely! I want to see that sadistic rapist get exactly what's coming to him."

"You'll have to get in line, sister." Pansy said in a voice that chilled the room by several degrees.

The Lady Longbottom opened Draco's journal and asked, "What should I say?"

Harry looked to his wives and closest advisors, "Near as I can tell, Mrs. Malfoy is just trying to keep herself and her son safe and alive – which is more than the little shit deserves."

Turning to Neville, he asked, "Do you think you can get her to come through the portal with you? Once you're both through we can start dealing with the death eaters."

Neville smiled and nodded, "Should be easy, our victims won't be expecting a reception."

Harry turned to Pansy, "Write and tell her that the portal is working, and that you know where Potter will be, and it won't be snug-a-bed in his Gryffindor dorm."

Luna frowned, "You want to make sure Tom Riddle comes too."

"All his soul-anchors are destroyed, its time to end this." Harry said, "Suggest a pre-dawn raid; usually that's the best time for an attack."

The DA meeting was short. "Padma has everyone's patrol assignments; you'll be in the corridors on every floor or on the battlements scanning the edge of the Forbidden Forest starting at five AM. During class, sit with your back to the wall in such a way that you can watch everyone in the room, as well as the door, have your wand in your hand, not in a pocket.

"We have a list of known death-eater sympathizers, if any of them so much as sneeze tomorrow morning, stun and disarm them immediately."

Neville stood up, "Today is the first of February, tomorrow is the Sabbat of Imbolc – midwinter. My ancestors saw this day as the beginning of the end of winter, and so let it mark the beginning of the end of the so-called Lord Voldemort."

Harry looked on with satisfaction that none of the DA members so much as flinched at the sound of the dreaded name.

Neville continued, "Some of you may have joined on a lark, thinking this was just a cool club to be in. It's not. This is an army, and the DA, once known as Dumbledore's Army, must stand and fight for the rights of _all_ magical people, no matter what their family names or blood status – all of you signed the charter, that makes you my brothers and sisters in arms, and I promise you, after today, there will be no greater statement of worth than this, to be able to say, _I stood with my DA brothers and sisters on Imbolc!"_

The meeting broke up with over a hundred grim-faced soldiers ready for battle.

When the room had cleared, save for Potter's Commandos, Harry said, "I need you to get some sleep, people. The Room of Requirement has apartments for us all, go to bed, get some sleep, I'll have the Room rouse you all at three-AM. Questions?"

No one had any.

Harry led his brides into the spacious quarters the Room had provided for them. As they prepared for bed, he secreted a lozenge.

He lay between Luna and Hermione, with Padma spooned against Luna's back.

Leaning over Luna he kissed Padma, who smiled, then slept, then he turned to kiss Hermione, who, likewise, went to sleep with a satisfied smile. Then he turned to Luna.

"Lose the charm, Harry."

"It's just a mild sleeping charm, to make sure we all sleep tonight – it's important to be well rested when we get up."

"You promise, that's all? You're not planning to leave us behind again?"

"I promise."

They kissed and slept contentedly, dreamlessly.


	12. Chapter 12: Back to the DoM

Chapter 12 – Back to the Department of Mysteries

A soft gong sounded and Harry, along with his wives, roused from their enchanted sleep, fully rested and fully awake.

No one spoke as each embraced the other three before donning his or her basilisk armor.

The four Potters entered the Room of Requirement's common room the same time as the other commandos and everyone silently embraced each other with heartfelt, filial love.

Harry held up his protean coin, as did all the others, save for Padma, who would be coordinating the defense of Hogwarts should it become necessary.

He tapped his coin with the tip of his wand and it began to buzz, buzz, buzz.

They counted down from ten as the triple-buzz pattern became more and more insistent.

Just before the countdown ended, Padma cried, "I will love you forever, Harry!"

Harry smiled and blew her a silent kiss just as the portkey aspect of the coins activated.

A swirl of color and a sound like howling wind and nine battle-ready commandos stood back to back, wands drawn.

"Good on ye' lad! Constant vigilance!"

Harry's wand didn't waver as he asked, "What were the first words out of your mouth after Dumbledore opened the trunk you'd been trapped in?"

Alastor Moody smiled his crooked smile, "I said, "I'm sorry, Albus." Will that do?"

Harry nodded, "Who've we got here?"

"I was able to get a squad of aurors, all of them hit-wizards."

"Oi, and witches!" Tonks said, "Wotcher, Harry!"

"Hey, Tonks, good to see you."

The metamorph mage smiled and whistled, "Cor, that's some serious armor ya got there, Harry. Izzat dragon hide?"

Harry shook his head, "Nope, basilisk."

Tonk's eyes grew wide and her jaw dropped.

Alastor put two fingers in his mouth and whistled a shrill, "_Fweeeeeet!"_

"I've _always_ wanted to learn to do that." Harry groused.

The old auror's voice didn't require a sonorous charm.

"Listen up, you lot. I know I don't need to remind you that Potter's Commandos are a ministry sanctioned, paramilitary force. But what you may not know is Commander Potter here has faced the Dark Bastard more times than any one man in history, and he's always come out on top, _always!" _

Every auror present had been thoroughly briefed on Harry's plan. They were a small force and fully expected to engage Voldemort and his inner circle, most of them knew that it would be the most unbelievable stroke of luck if they all came out of this one alive, but, if that was the price of freedom, then they would pay it.

Algernon Croaker, head unspeakable, entered the room and said, "We're ready on the dais whenever you are, Commander."

The group moved into the next chamber where, on a stone platform ringed with steps, the Arch stood. Potter's Commandos, interspersed by aurors, formed a circle around the dais as it seemed fitting to do so.

Harry looked through the Arch and was startled to see Neville on the other side. He looked at Croaker and asked, "Is it working? I don't remember being able to see through it."

The old Unspeakable nodded his head, grimly, "Oh yeah, it works well enough. It don't matter what side you go through either, just passing through the arch activates the veil."

Two more Unspeakables carried the portal up to the arch.

"Leave at least a meter between the portal and the Arch." Croaker said, "My nephew will need to side-step at the last possible moment."

Neville, already dressed in Draco's robes, stepped up to the dais and uncorked a flask. Before he could drink it Pansy ran up the steps to fasten her lips to his.

"I won't want to kiss you when you look like that ponce!" She explained.

Neville took a deep swig and shuddered as his features became pinched and pale, his hair long and platinum blond.

"Good luck, mate." Harry said, obviously holding strong emotions in check.

Neville clasped Harry's hand, when he released the grip he'd left one end of an extendable ear behind. Grinning, the polyjuiced Gryffindor stepped into the portal.

Harry raised his end of the flesh colored string to his ear and nodded, "It's working."

Pansy looked nearly apoplectic with anxiety, gesturing for him to share what was being said, "_Please_, Harry?"

Luna touched the ear with her wand and said, "_Sonorous." _

Neville's voice came through loud and clear.

"Thank you for meeting me, mother; it's good to be home. You are looking well."

"I am better, now that you are here, son."

"Aunt Bellatrix, you are looking well."

"Your mother, my sister, has been very kind, nephew. Is all in readiness?"

There was a pause, during which Pansy explained, "It's the worst sort of manners, among pure-bloods, to be so blunt as to come directly to the point."

After a long moment of silence, Neville sighed, "Yes, Aunt Bellatrix, all is ready. Are you so eager to leave the hospitality of my father's house?"

Bellatrix's answer sounded like it came through clenched teeth, "I am only anxious to do my lord's bidding, nephew."

"What have you brought, Draco?"

"Peruvian darkness powder, it will cast the other side of the portal into impenetrable shadows."

"Then how will _we_ see?" a gruff, male voice asked.

"You won't need to, Greyback. Just walk straight through the portal, three paces straight through, then step left or right. First one through goes left, second right and so on.

"The darkness will clear after two minutes, but we'll have our wands out and ready."

There was a disturbance, then a voice said, "Someone claimin' ta be Malfoy here's on the floo! Say's to bloody well wait for im'"

"Mother, we don't have time for this!" Neville said, "We need to go _now!"_

Narcissa's voice said, "No son of mine would use that kind of language in his father's house, _this_ is my son, and he says we should go. I am going with him!"

"Come, mother!"

Neville stepped into the room and quickly pulled Narcissa Malfoy to the side and down while simultaneously throwing the bag of powder to the floor between portal and Arch.

Narcissa looked up just in time to see Luna smiling down at her.

"_Somnus."_

And Narcissa slept.

The two Unspeakables moved the portal closer to the Arch then waited.

The extendable ear still played like a portable wizarding wireless set.

"Let's go lads!"

The sound of running feet, then a loud cry that passed into the Arch chamber only to be cut off by the veil.

"They're through, next wave, go, go, go!"

More sounds of stomping feet, hastening into the veil of death.

The voice of Bellatrix Lestrange commanded, "Tell everyone to move to the far left or right, the darkness powder is about to expire and I want to make an entrance."

A chorus of "Yes ma'am," was followed by still more running feet.

"Hey, move to the…"

The voice winked out of existence along with the speaker.

The artificial darkness fell away like a torn curtain.

"_Reducto!"_

No one in the Department of Mysteries knew what would happen if you were to hit the Arch with a powerful reducto curse, because, who in their right minds would try such a thing?

The blowback, as the potent curse rebounded, splintered the cabinet but somehow preserved the actual portal, a torus of power that fell over just as four shapes leaped into the room, well away from the veil of death.

Bellatrix and Rabastian Lestrange, Fenrir Greyback and Antonin Dolohov stood on the dais, a good three meters from the veil.

Bellatrix saw where she was and cackled with glee, "Oh good, back to the Department of Mysteries!"

Then, apparently, she assumed that anyone and everyone in the room was an enemy and began firing a string of lethal curses in every direction. Her own comrades had to dive off the platform to avoid being eviscerated. Random as her curses were, they were nonetheless deadly, two aurors and one commando fell in less than three seconds.

Her rapid fire spellwork kept the aurors and commandos pinned down.

They had cover and concealment and were content to let the madwoman wear herself down before offering up themselves as targets.

She nearly tripped over the sleeping form of her sister.

"Cissy?"

Bellatrix took just half a second to cast an _enervate_ and nodded grimly as Narcissa stirred.

Mrs. Malfoy's first words were, "Draco? Where are you, Draco?"

Bellatrix, still firing random curses, shook her head and groused, "Get a grip, Cissy, this is a trap!"

Narcissa didn't care, as long as her son could be safe. She kept calling, "Draco, _Draco!"_

Neville sighed, then stepped out from behind a column, hissing, "Over here, mother, hurry!"

At that moment, the real Draco, disheveled and bruised, dirty hair curtaining his face, stumbled out of the fallen torus. He looked at his doppelganger and shouted, "You!"

Narcissa turned and saw Draco fire his curse.

"Reducto!"

"No!"

"Diffindo!"

Draco's curse was spot on; Narcissa saw that and chose to protect the boy she thought was her own the only way she could think of.

She threw herself in the path of the powerful blasting curse.

Pansy's cutting curse, fueled by years of abuse and disparagement, severed Draco's arm at the shoulder.

The once-proud Slytherin prince looked confused as he saw a disembodied arm, clutching his wand.

He crumpled to the ground and would have bled out but Pansy cauterized the ruined shoulder saying, "Oh no, too easy – _way_ too easy."

Narcissa had taken the full force of her son's blasting curse, which severed her spine while liquefying her kidneys and lower intestines.

She fell into Neville's arms and pleaded, "P-promise me you'll never t-take the dark mark!"

Neville, still wearing Draco's features, nodded, and eased Narcissa to the ground behind a column, "I promise, mother, see?"

Saying this he bared his left arm, proving he never had.

"I know… you're a… good…"

And Narcissa Black Malfoy was no more.

Bellatrix wasn't content to just stand on the dais; she ran to where she'd seen her sister fall and came up short when she saw the boy, who _wasn't_ her nephew, showing Narcissa his bare arm.

"You _stupid_ bitch!" she cried, "Don't you even know your own _son?"_

Bellatrix looked at her fallen sister, then at Neville.

"Who _are_ you?" She shrieked.

"Can't you guess?" he said, watching as his wife sidled around a far column.

"Tell me, before I kill you!"

"You'll just have to live with disappointment."

"_Avada…"_

"_Diffindo!"_

"_Reducto!"_

Bellatrix was hit from two different directions by two powerful curses, the cutting curse, combined with the blasting curse spun her around so that, when she fell over, it was in two different directions, her upper-torso neatly severed from her body.

Antonin Dolohov's expression was one of recognition as he saw the bushy brown hair of the girl he'd nearly killed the previous June.

He screamed "_Corpus fissus!" _Then watched in grim satisfaction as the sickly purple spell struck her from behind just below her waistline.

Hermione spun on one heel and shouted, "_Reducto – ducto!"_ firing two quick blasting curses, both of which impacted the Bulgarian's chest, breaking all the man's ribs.

Dolohov's last thought and word was, "How?"

Luna ran to Hermione, "Are you okay?"

"I think that in-bred bastard put a scorch mark on my cloak!"

Luna laughed, then quickly tackled her sister-spouse so that the green light of a killing curse passed over their heads.

From their position below the dais they could see Rabastian Lestrange running back to the portal – problem was, the portal was on the other side of the Arch. He could see it, his avenue of escape. Apparently he knew the shortest distance between two points was, indeed, a straight line. Straight through the Arch.

Lestrange scrambled over the dais and, dodging spells from a dozen different wands, bound for the portal.

His plan was to leap through the Arch to fall into the portal on the other side. Of course, he had no way of knowing that the Arch contained the Veil.

This is known as "Jumping to a conclusion."

Fenrir threw off his cloak and quickly downed the contents of a flask.

The nature of the Potion became immediately obvious, as he transformed into the half-man, half-wolf form, the incomplete configuration that left a werewolf insane with pain and therefore even more dangerous than the pure wolf form.

Aurors and commandos alike had clear shots at the monstrosity but, even though the cutting, blasting, bludgeoning curses were hitting him, Greyback would not, _could_ not be stopped before he killed his last prey.

He bounced off a far wall, then slammed into a basilisk armored commando. The nightmare that was Greyback tore into his hapless victim tooth and claw until the combined curses of more than a dozen wands finally brought him down.

Keeping a wary eye on the still-active portal, Harry stepped over to where the werewolf and his victim lay.

The commando lay face-down on the stone floor, wisps of red hair spilling out of the hood.

The Basilisk hide cloak and boots had shielded the victim from the monster's claws and teeth, but not from the crushing force of the werewolf's powerful jaws or vicious blows.

Harry gently turned the body so that it lay face up.

There was a collective gasp.

Ronald Weasley lay dead.

"Hermione?"

"Here Harry."

"Luna?"

Silence.

"_Luna!"_ Harry cried.

"Over h-here, Harry."

Luna sat on the floor cradling Lavender's head in her lap, sightless eyes staring into the distance.

"S-she put herself between Bellatrix Lestrange and these two," Luna said, indicating the fallen aurors, "She was trying to protect them with her basilisk-hide cloak, but no armor can protect you from a killing curse."

Alastor Moody stumped up, "We lost three aurors; five more are on their way to St. Mungo's."

Harry held his anger in check, just barely. "Riddle never showed. That cowardly _bastard_ never showed."

Alastor frowned, "Where was he expecting you to be, Harry?"

Luna gasped, "Hogwarts! Harry, he's at Hogwarts with his main forces – it's the only thing that makes sense."

Harry pulled out his protean coin, his eyes narrowed, his voice cold as flint, "Luna, take Lavender's coin, give it to Senior Auror Moody, Hermione, get Ron's for Tonks."

He tapped his coin and, as the countdown began, positioned the seven commandos and two aurors so that when they arrived they'd be back to back with wands at the ready.

"Three, two, one…"

When they appeared in the great hall it was to the sound of chaos.

Every staff member and every DA student who could were setting _patronus_ charms to guard the windows.

"Harry!"

Padma ran to her husband and hugged him, rubbing his arms and back, as if taking inventory.

"I'm fine, sweetheart, how are things here?"

"The headmaster is dead, apparently cursed from behind by Draco Malfoy, just before he ran away." She said, "McGonagall is coordinating the patronus defenses against the dementors."

"What about Snape and his pet snakes?"

"Oh, well, Professor Snape and the non-DA Slytherins are in the dungeons. It seems, once the Slytherin DA members had left to patrol the castle, _someone_ put the whole house into an enchanted sleep and summoned every wand in the Slytherin rooms before casting a _fidelius_ on their exits, all of them. Now they can't seem to find their way out of their own common room."

Professor Flitwick smirked at hearing this.

"It was a good thing we had patrols out on the battlements, we saw the dementors coming and got everyone into the Great Hall. Myrtle was _fantastic!_ She rallied the ghosts, even Peeves helped. Together they roused all the students and staff, well, except for the Slytherins, of course. Now we're having _patronus_ practice, see?"

Saying this, Padma's _patronus_, a Brahmin bull, galumphed up to a window to give another caster a breather.

"There are giants on the edge of the forest, but they won't come near the castle while the dementors are here."

"Professor Flitwick," Harry called the diminutive teacher, "Portkeys should work, we arrived that way."

The charms professor sighed, "It's a lobster trap, Mister Potter; people can portkey in but not out."

Harry sighed, "So, we're okay, just trapped in here?"

"Pretty much." Padma said, giving him a little bus on the lips, "The firsties think it's a play day."

"Padma, Luna, Hermione, I need you to be brilliant. How do we get rid of the dementors?"

"Brilliance." Luna said, sounding like her old ethereal self.

At Harry's puzzled look she explained, "They can't handle bright light."

"So, if we all cast a lumos at the same time?" Harry suggested.

"Well, that might work, but wouldn't it be better to have the sun instead?" She asked.

"Yes," Harry agreed, "but there's all this fog and gloom out there."

Luna turned to Hermione, "Did you know the National Weather Service doesn't do a thing about the weather?"

Hermione nodded, trying to read between the lines, to see where Luna was going with this.

"Now, if the Weather Service could actually move those lovely _aiches _about."

"Wait, aiches?"

"You know, the big letter 'H' symbols on the map?"

Hermione smiled, "Got it! High pressure areas, wherever the high pressure systems go, that's where the sun shines brightest."

"So all we have to do is create a high pressure zone around Hogwarts?" Harry asked.

"Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, and surrounding areas, yes."

"And how do we do that?"

"Magic."

Oddly enough the solution was simplicity itself, the charms teams pulled down very dense, cold air from the upper atmosphere, forcing the less dense, warmer air to rise, there was a bit of icy condensation that froze the ground solid, but once that had formed the bright sun shone through crisp, clear, cold winter air. The frozen ground sparkled like diamonds.

The dementors flew screaming for the hills.

"Defense Association!" Harry shouted, "To the battlements, _now!"_

The well-disciplined DA climbed the steps to the ramparts none too soon. With thundering strides, half a dozen giants, each as tall at the outer walls, rumbled toward the outer defenses.

Just over a hundred students and professors cast blasting hexes simultaneously; the combined force was such that the giants were blown back across the icy lawn to crash into the trees.

"Tha' was yer warnin, boys. I'd nae try that again if'n it were me!" Hagrid bellowed to his cousins.

The three largest giants shook themselves and charged again.

"Put em' in the lake, Harry." The half-giant said, his head bowed in sorrow, "If ye' don't, they'll jes keep comin' back."

The effort, even more coordinated than before, propelled the three tenacious giants onto the frozen surface of the black lake. Each tried to stand on the ice but couldn't get their footing. Finally one tried to crawl along the ice on his belly, and would have made it to shore if it hadn't been for the giant squid.

Ten powerful, gigantic tentacles erupted from below, shattering the ice, and dragged the howling, panic stricken giants to their watery graves.

The other three giants ran for all they were worth away from the castle and the lethal lake.

"Where is he?" Harry asked.

Luna stood to his left, "Try looking within." She suggested.

Hermione, although obviously fearful of the consequences, nodded her approval.

Harry closed his eyes and looked into his curse-scar connection with Voldemort.

"Hogsmeade." He said, finally. "He's in Hogsmeade. There are death eaters patrolling the streets as if they own the place."

"How many?" Luna asked.

"No more than twenty, the rest, perhaps fifty or so, are set to charge the castle at Riddle's orders."

He rubbed his lightning-bolt scar and frowned, "Moonrise will be at a quarter to seven, he plans to have his werewolves in the courtyard by then, but how?"

"Luna?" Harry asked, "How would you get werewolves to the castle courtyard just in time for them to change?"

"Oh that's simple, they'd already have to be here – hidden, to be sure, but they're here."

"I need the Marauder's Map!" he cried.

Dobby appeared with a loud 'Pop!' holding the magical artifact.

In short order Harry found himself scouring the magic map along with his three wives, looking for people who didn't belong.

"Harry," Padma said, "look at the Slytherin common room."

In that room, grouped in a tight huddle, the name 'Severus Snape' stood between the tightly huddled students of Slytherin that weren't aligned with the DA and four names that were not on the current Hogwarts rolls.

"I'm guessing Colin Frizzell, Kenneth Lars, Michael Powers and James Sneed are not new transfer students." Luna observed.

"My gut tells me to leave them there." Harry groused.

Hermione frowned, "Tempting as that is, you know we can't."

"So how do we get them out of there?" Padma asked.

Professor Flitwick sighed, "I can get into and out of the Slytherin common room easily enough, and four unarmed werewolves shouldn't be too much of a problem."

"You're sure they're disarmed?" Harry asked.

"Well, I'm sure they're _wandless_," the professor smirked, "I _am_ rather good at summoning charms!"

"I'll go with you," Professor Sinestra offered, "After all, Slytherin was my house."

"We can help as well." Harry said.

"No, Harry, this is our responsibility." Flitwick said, "You just keep an eye on those death eaters at the edge of the forest.

The Potters watched anxiously as the names 'Filius Flitwick' and 'Sidra Sinestra' closed on the dungeons. As the two entered the Slytherin common room there was a surge of names trying to exit where the professors had entered, but, apparently, once the door was closed it was immediately lost to those not privy to the secret.

Flitwick, Sinestra and Snape stood together, the four strangers were standing against a far wall.

The charms professor approached the werewolves and suddenly Frizzell moved toward him. In less than an instant the name Frizzell disappeared from the map.

"Where'd he go?" Hermione asked.

"The map only shows living people, I guess." Luna said.

She was right.

The other three werewolves seemed content to stay still and live.

When the professors left, they took eleven students with them, ten first and second years and Millicent Bulstrode.

Snape stayed, or was left behind.

When Professors Flitwick and Sinestra returned to the battlements Harry asked, "Spot of trouble?"

The little man shrugged, "No more than I expected, Sid, I mean, Professor Sinestra had my back, and good thing too. Werewolves don't like confined spaces even when they're in human form and those four were on their last frayed nerve when we got there."

Professor Sinestra continued, "We offered them wolf's bane and a powerful sleeping draught, but they were suspicious, who wouldn't be?"

"_I_ would have been, if I'd been in their shoes." Flitwick added.

"One of them tried to jump Phil, I mean Professor Flitwick, and I…"

"It's okay, Sid, you did what you had to do."

"I could have just stunned him." She said, visibly shaken.

"And he could have chosen not to attack me." He said, placing a calming hand on her arm.

No one pressed any further.

"I saw Bulstrode leading a group of firsties to the great hall." Harry said.

Sidra smiled, "Millie has taken it on herself to look after the younger students in that house. Apparently bullying has become an accepted practice there, and she won't stand for it."

Filius frowned, "That kind of behavior will no longer be tolerated. I believe _Mister_ Snape needs to consider other career options."

The Astronomy professor nodded, "The younger Slytherins flock to Millicent for protection. If any of those men had come near her 'sprogs,' as she calls them, I think she'd have killed them with her bare hands."

Luna sighed, "The weak flock to the strong in times of crisis, the children look to Millie, Magical Britain looks to the Ministry of Magic to protect them, and the ministry, weak and corrupt, folds at the first sign of trouble."

She turned her head slightly sideways and said, "Kind of like the French."

Hermione nodded, "How many death eaters did you say were in Hogsmeade, twenty?"

Harry nodded.

"There are _hundreds_ of adult wizards and witches in Hogsmeade, and they _all_ have wands." She spat, "I say we leave now."

"I have to agree," Padma said, "Magical Britain is in-bred, bigoted, weak and corrupt. Let's say you beat Riddle; how long will it be before some other dark lord rises and starts all over again?"

Luna, her ethereal smile at its best said, "But then, you wouldn't be Harry Potter if you did that, would you?"

"Enough." Harry said, "I need two teams of twenty fliers, ready to go in ten minutes."

"Hagrid!"

"Yes, Harry?"

"Can you get into the forest, unseen?"

"No problem."

"Go tell the centaurs that we're going to need them to man a firebrake, we're going to start a fire and I hope it'll be a controlled burn, but if they want to help protect their homes and families they need to be ready."

Hagrid was a natural follower, used to taking orders, and Harry was clearly in command here. The half-giant ambled off.

Fifty students, all quidditch players, were gathering on the lawn.

"Excellent, who can cast a reducto?"

All the hands went up.

"We're all in the DA, Harry." Said one of the flyers, Billy Danvers, a third year Hufflepuff.

Harry divided out the youngest and smallest and had them gather round, "All right then, here's what I need you to do…"

Eyes lit up with evangelical fervor as Harry described his strategy.

"Questions?"

There were none.

"Remember, cut a swath, then fly back by way of the lake. Ready?"

The first group nodded, no one said a word as Harry, and his wives, along with professors McGonagall, Flitwick and Sinestra disillusioned the flyers.

"All right, Phoenix Squad, move out and godsspeed!"

Harry had the remaining flyers gather around.

"I only have one question." Harry said, and pointing to Justin Finch-Fletchley, "Can you kill a man?"

He thought for a moment and then nodded, "Yes, I'd rather not, but if I have to I think I can."

Harry clapped him on the shoulder, "Thank you for being honest."

He turned to the group again.

"If Voldemort succeeds today he will kill you, his followers will rape, rob and kill your families. Do you understand this?"

Twenty-five heads nodded.

"Are you willing to take a life in order to save the lives of your family, your friends?"

Four flyers stood away from the others.

Li Su of Ravenclaw sobbed, "I can't take a life, I don't even eat meat, but if it will help, someone else may use my broom, it's a good one, a Comet Six-sixty."

Harry hugged the girl, "You are the second bravest girl I know, thank you for your offer."

"These four have shown real courage, remember, not everyone can be a front line fighter, we need people like Su supporting us."

"I would be honored to use your broom, Miss Li."

Harry looked down and saw a grim-faced Professor Flitwick accept Su's Comet.

Minerva McGonagall stepped forward but Harry said, "No, Professor. You're headmistress now; your first duty is to the school and her students."

Minnie was about to get her Scottish burr up but Filius placed a calming hand on her arm and said, "Don't you hate it when he's right?"

"Listen up, Dragon Squadron, stay on your brooms, don't make any noise, when we get to the town square in Hogsmeade land on your designated rooftop – this will give you a clear line of fire. Remember: bone breakers, blasting and cutting curses, flame hexes, anything that will take a man down and keep him there. No stunners, if you stun them another death eater will just revive them.

"Death eaters are used to people cowering away from them, fear is their most potent weapon."

Harry's eyes grew narrow, "We're going to deprive them of that weapon, then turn it around and cram it down their throats."

Each flyer was given half a dozen small runes carved in bone, then disillusioned by either a Potter or one of the professors.

"First group, Dragon's Head, swing wide and come in from the north, mount up! Go!"

"Second group, Right Wing, approach from the west. Mount up!"

"Third group, Left Wing, come at them from the east. Mount up!"

"Fourth group, Dragon's Tail, on me, mount up!"

It was a clear, cold midwinter's day. Disillusioned as they were, the flyers were hard to see and mid-air collisions were likely, but one broom rider bumping into another is an inconvenience, not an aerial catastrophe. A few "beg pardons," and everyone was well on their way to the final battle.

Each group dropped their runes on the outskirts of town at each of the four points of the compass. Once that was done there would be no apparating or portkeying into or out of Hogsmeade.

Luna settled her broom comfortably on the thatched roof of the Lord Mayor's house. She wasn't surprised to see Riddle sitting on a comfortable chair – probably the Mayor's – in the middle of the square.

His dark robes seemed to flow around him like silk, the only concession Riddle made to the cold was to raise his hood, but that could have been vanity as well, after all the soul rending rituals he'd endured, Tom Riddle was no longer easy on the eyes.

_I wonder if the town offered any resistance at all._ She thought, disgustedly. _Probably not._

A few death eaters were strutting about the town square, perhaps a dozen or so.

A raven landed at Riddle's feet, carrying a scroll in its beak.

Luna knew what the note said.

Tom Marvolo Riddle,

You and me, alone, high street at high noon.

Harry James Potter

P.S. You are the only one who has any chance of beating me, and you know it – we've both heard the prophesy.

Harry

Luna had wanted to use the word 'defeat' or 'vanquish' but Harry insisted on keeping the note simple.

The Raven vanished, having been conjured for the single purpose of delivering the note.

Riddle laughed and summoned the nearest death eater who rushed to prostrate himself at the Dark Lord's feet.

"Hold up your arm."

The death eater bared his left arm and Riddle touched the man's dark mark with his wand.

All the death eaters in town, a full two dozen, quickly assembled in the square.

"Harry Potter is calling me out." He said, his voice smooth and sibilant, "We shall prepare a welcome for him."

There was a sound like a screaming banshee as Harry, still disillusioned flew straight toward the ground from a hundred meters up, at the last possible instant two things happened, he pulled up, translating his downward momentum toward the self-ordained dark lord and he un-disillusioned himself.

Harry's broom handle impaled Tom's chest so that he looked like a large, black insect pinned for display in a museum. Harry simply rolled off the back of his broom to land lightly on his feet.

"Ta, da!" he said, then proceeded to blast Riddle with an unceasing string of bludgeoning curses, the Elder Wand seemingly alive in his hands.

The rest of the death eaters were so shocked they didn't, at first, notice the barrage of deadly curses being rained down on them from above. Cutting them down like so much wheat.

An unseen enemy was hurling lethal curses on their heads.

Some tried to fire back, but fire at what?

They tried to apparate away, only to find they couldn't – neither did their portkeys work.

"You fools!" Voldemort cried, spitting blood as he shouted, "they're on the rooftops, destroy the houses, blast the rooftops, burn the houses!"

But the disillusioned broom riders were airborne again, and were firing hexes that prevented the assembled death eaters from escaping.

"We surrender!" one man screamed, throwing down his wand and holding up his hands.

Voldemort, run through by a broomstick, screamed, "_Avada kedavra!" _effectively culling the coward from his ranks. Then he turned his red eyes toward Harry.

"You can't kill me, Potter, I am immortal!"

"Oh, you mean your horcruxes?"

Tom Riddle's eyes grew wide.

"Seen your snake, Nagini, recently? No? How about Salazar's ring? His locket? How about Helga's Cup, or Rowena's diadem perhaps? Maybe your old diary?"

Harry looked grim, "Try to connect with any of them, go ahead, I'll give you half a minute."

Riddle surreptitiously brought his wand to bear and Harry pounded him with another bludgeoning hex, making him drop his wand, which Harry summoned.

"Do try again; try to connect with any of your horcruxes."

He did, and smiled, "One is still active, and while that one lives I cannot be killed."

"Yeah," Harry said, sadly, "I know."

Harry grasped the handles of both wands so that they pointed in opposite directions. He pointed his at Riddle, which in turn, directed Riddle's wand back at his own chest.

"You've ruined my life, Tom. You killed my parents, and then you or your sycophants made my life a living hell. Well, since I've already done my time in hell, maybe I'll be forgiven for this…"

"_Avada Kedavra!"_

The twin AKs struck Harry and Tom at the same time.

Luna's world went dark as she fell in a dead faint off her broom.

Author's note: One chapter to go, you might want to read it.

N!


	13. Chapter 13: Diaspora

Chapter 13 – Diaspora

_From the penseive memories of Harry James Potter, submitted for evidence:_

The first thing Harry noticed was the smell and feel of soft grasses, the sound of birds in far off trees and the warmth of the soft lap his head rested upon. Someone was running their fingers through his hair and it felt nice.

"When I open my eyes, there better be an angel running her fingers through my hair."

"Will I do, in a pinch, Harry?"

Harry knew that voice, "Lav? Lavender Brown?"

He opened his eyes and saw the blue eyes and broad smile of Gryffindor's most gregarious student.

"You're alive! I thought you were…oh."

"It's okay Harry, you can say it. After all, death is just a state of mind."

"I guess that means I'm dead too?"

"Well…"

"Um, Lavender, it's a yes or no question."

"Maybe just a little…"

"Oh come on Lav, you can't be just a little bit dead, that's like being a little bit pregnant."

"Okay, thing is, you've got a choice to make. And I can't help you either way, it has to be _your_ decision."

"A choice?" Harry asked.

"Yes, you can choose to go back or stay"

"Can you tell me where we are?"

"Oh yes, these are the Elysian Fields, everyone passes through here sooner or later."

"If I decide to stay, what happens to everyone back, you know, back there."

"Life will go on. Your wives will grieve; Luna may or may not recover from the shock of seeing you _kill yourself."_

Harry heard the unmistakable sound of reprimand in Lavender's voice.

"And your son and two daughters will grow up never knowing their father."

"So Luna and Padma?"

"_Hermione_ and Padma, Luna will miscarry, something about falling off a broom from the shock of you _killing yourself."_

"No!"

"Or you can go back, finish what you started, and live a long and productive life. But it's your call; I didn't say anything to try to convince you one way or another, right?"

"Okay." Harry agreed. "I want to go back, can I go now?"

"Whew! Good choice, Harry, better than you could have known."

"How so, why do you sound so relieved?"

"Well, remember that anchoring ritual you performed?"

"Yeah…"

"It would have trapped you're spirit, your ghost, on the Earthy Plane until all your children had passed over."

"But I only anchored to my wives."

"No, you anchored to your _pregnant_ wives."

"Does that mean we'll all be ghosts until all our children pass over?"

"No, once you're back you can all agree to modify the anchor any way you'd like."

"Um, how much time has passed since I, ah, _attempted_ suicide?"

"Oh, that's the fun thing about time here, it doesn't really exist. Well not in the way we normally think of time as like, a clock ticking or days and nights and seasons…"

"Lav! The point? I'm trying to save my babies here!"

"Oh, you can go back to the very instant you, um, had your little _accident."_

"Great, I want to go back now!"

"Remember _Arresto momentum,_ the Headmaster used that one on you in third year, it lets you down nice and easy, okay?"

He stood in front of the Lord Mayor's house, Riddle was face-down in the snow. – Harry spun, sensing Luna somewhere behind him, and shouted "_Arresto momentum!"_

"_Harry!"_

It was his other wife, Hermione. "Oh shite, I'm never gonna hear the end of this, am I?"

Harry cast a broad spell to cancel the disillusionment on Luna and saw her lying not three feet away from where he stood. He fell to his knees, pulled her limp form to his chest, and began to cry.

He hadn't cried since he was a baby – it had been the only way he could beat the Dursleys. If they could make him cry, it meant they'd won, if he didn't cry, they didn't win.

He'd cried in impotent rage when Cedric was murdered.

He hadn't cried in _grief_ when Cedric died, or Sirius, or Lavender or Ron or Dumbledore, but here sitting on the frozen ground holding Luna, grief, bottled away for years, came rushing out – he grieved for his entire abused life, for his loved ones lost.

And he prayed.

He touched that invisible means of support we cleave to as human beings, to that which makes us spiritual beings.

God, YAWEH, Goddess, whatever name you call It, the Source and the Guide.

"Please, please don't be dead; don't let my babies be dead, please oh please."

Luna stirred, "Ha-Harry?"

He sniffed and nodded.

"_REDUCTO!"_

"Wha…"

Harry turned just in time to see Voldemort's reptilian head disappear into a fine red mist.

The headless corpse stood for just a moment, a vicious-looking knife raised high, ready to strike.

Several broom riders shouted, "_Expeliarmus!"_

The body flew back away from Harry and Luna.

There was no releasing of a soul fragment, no mist or shadow, there were no more soul fragments to release.

"I thought you were dead." Luna said.

"No, just getting rid of that last pesky horcrux."

"Oh, well, that's okay then."

"And here we thought _I_ was the one who had to kill Riddle." Harry said.

"Well, we are bonded, after all," Luna observed, "You know the song, 'a man shall leave his mother, and a woman leave her home, they shall travel on to where the _two_ shall be as _one'_.

"Or maybe it's because I'm carrying our babies?"

"Are you, they, _all of you_ okay?"

Luna smiled, "Just fine, Harry."

Just then frizzy brown hair covered their faces as a brunette missile collided with them both.

"Harry, Luna, are you hurt? Harry! Harry, you cast a _killing curse_, and then it hit you and you; but _you're not dead_, but he wasn't either and then Luna fell, but you caught her and he was going to and then Luna! _You killed Voldemort!"_

"One of these days, sis, you're going to have to tell me how you do that."

"Do what?"

"Get all that out without taking a breath."

Harry smirked, "Great breath control on this girl, oh yeah."

The rest of the flyers became visible and began collecting wands.

"I want to see my solicitor, I know my rights, I was _imperioused!"_

Harry frowned, "Can you get up, love?"

Luna nodded and let Harry and Hermione help her to her feet.

"Let's do a quick count, how many of you were _imperioused?"_

Every death eater hand went up.

"I thought so." Harry said, "So you won't mind testifying under veritaserum?"

"You can't make us take veritaserum, we have the right to not incriminate ourselves!"

Harry smiled most unpleasantly, "If you were _criminals_, then that would be true, but guess what? Your dark lord declared _war_ on Britain, and under the articles of war that makes you _enemy combatants_, which means we can use any means necessary to extract information from you in the interests of national security.

"You don't want veritaserum? Fine, we'll just _crucio_ you until you're ready to tell us the whole truth."

Harry smiled a predatory smile, "I'll bet I can get some of the family members of death eater victims to conduct the _interviews."_

The eleven death eaters didn't need white masks at that point, as all the blood had rushed to their feet. Their faces were quite naturally white.

Harry ordered the DA members to bind the death eater's hands behind them and then marched them in a single file back through Hogsmeade on the way to Hogwarts.

As the prisoners were led away, Hermione transfigured Tom Riddle's body into a book, ironically, into a diary. She then placed it in a sack pulled from a rubbish bin. The witch held the sack well away from her body as she joined those guarding the prisoners.

The residents of Hogsmeade jeered and taunted the bound death eaters; Harry could barely contain his disgust. There must have been two hundred people lining the streets, with more on the way, and they had been beaten and cowed by two dozen men in black hoods and masks.

Then the sound of explosions and the sight and smell of smoke told them that the day's fighting wasn't quite over.

Harry counted out six Defense Association fighters, "You stay with the prisoners, if they speak, _silencio_ them, if they move stun them, if they give you any trouble at all, kill them. Understood?"

The guards nodded then turned their grim faces to the prisoners. All of whom quailed under the scrutiny.

"Dragon Squadron, mount up, go, go, go!"

They flew up and over the rooftops of Hogsmeade making a beeline for the castle.

From the air Harry could see that Phoenix Squadron had done its job, there was a wide firebreak of felled and cleared trees cut in an arc behind the death eater positions, the forest nearest Hogwarts was blazing.

Death eaters who had tried to cross the firebreak had been felled by thick-shafted centaur arrows. The rest were firing lethal curses at the battlements but they were leaderless. And most of the curses fell short of the mark.

Harry placed a sonorous on his throat, "This is Commander Potter of the Defense Association! Your dark lord is dead. I offer you these terms, lay down your wands and come out with your hands up and I promise you'll get fair trials."

A bright green light flashed his way, which he easily avoided.

"Dragon Squadron, on me!"

The cruciform formation flew low and fast over the trees for its strafing run. No one broke formation as the "Dragon" veered left or right to avoid the hottest spots in the burning forest. Blasting, cutting, and burning curses flew from a dozen wands to devastating effect.

Fifteen men stumbled out of the forest with their hands raised.

From his hovering broom Harry demanded, "Is this everyone?"

The man in front shook his head, "No, there are about a dozen more back there in a tunnel."

"Bind these like the others and watch em'." Harry ordered his troops, and then turned and flew over the firebreak. He spotted Hagrid, who was talking with the centaur leader Bane.

Hovering over the half-giant and centaurs Harry called out, "Hey, Hagrid, are you friendly with any of the acromantulae, now that Aragog is gone?"

"Yeah, one or two, why?"

"See if they'd like some fresh meat."

Hagrid placed two fingers in his mouth and whistled five shrill blasts.

Three spiders, about the size of Shetland ponies came out. They clicked and whistled.

"They're askin' if we'll let them to feed on the fresh meat."

"Okay by me. There are twelve death eaters trying to dig their way into the castle right now. Imagine, Hagrid, what a dozen of that lot would be doing inside Hogwarts right now."

The half-giant looked grim, then whistled once.

The three giant acromantulae were followed by six more as they found their way unerringly to the tunnel.

Horrified, gurgling screams – the stuff of nightmares – only lasted a moment or two, maybe three.

"I wanna talk to my solicitor…" the first death eater began.

"Shut the fuck up!" Harry bellowed.

"You disgust me! You bathe in the blood and tears of the weak and the frightened, you terrify and humiliate your victims; you rape them and rob them of their dignity before you kill them. And now, after you've been caught, you want the rest of us to play by some fucking rules?"

Harry rounded on the group, "You want some rules? Okay, rule one, if any one of you so much as breathes the words 'solicitor' or '_imperioused'_ I will fucking feed you to the spiders. Are we clear? Please, _please_ try me on this, I'm begging you!"

No one said anything after that.

Just then a full company of aurors, fifty fresh, battle ready troops portkeyed onto the grounds. Rufus Scrimgeour, Minister of Magic, stood at the front of the formation.

Off to one side a Daily Prophet photographer was snapping photos.

Harry shook his head in disbelief, then took a deep breath, let it out and said, "Minister, we have prisoners here and maybe a dozen more in Hogsmeade."

"And the werewolves." Hermione prompted.

"Oh yeah, and three werewolves sleeping in the Slytherin common room."

Scrimgeour was beyond words, but, being a politician first, he found them.

"Excellent! We'll get this lot to Azkaban straight away."

"I'm afraid not, minister, this is a military matter, and until a representative from Her Majesty's Armed Forces takes over, these are my prisoners to interrogate."

"Now, Harry…"

"That's Commander Potter to you, Minister, I have my commission from the Crown, and unless you want to be found guilty of sedition in the court of public opinion, you'll work with me on this."

"But due process…"

Harry didn't let himself blow up again, not in front of the Minister of Magic.

"I promise you, sir, these men will have infinitely more due process than their victims have enjoyed. And as I plan to make all their transcripts a matter of public record, I'd say I've got the moral and legal high ground today."

"Where and when do you want the depositions, Commander?"

"Now would be good, in the great hall. I'd like as many witnesses as you think we can get for pensive recordings as well."

"Oh, and if Rita Skeeter shows up, arrest her."

"On what grounds?"

"She's an unregistered animagus, her form is a particularly hideous beetle."

An hour later the prisoners, twenty-seven in all, were chained together at the Slytherin table.

Professor's Flitwick, McGonagall and Sprout went to the Slytherin common room and each levitated a sleeping wolf back to the great hall. The werewolves would be questioned after moonset in the morning.

Snape and the Slytherins were left behind in the common room, figuratively and literally in the dark.

One by one the death eaters were questioned, first without veritaserum, then with. Everyone got the same questions.

"Are you a death eater?"

"Did you join of your own free will?"

"Have you killed?"

"How many?"

"Who?"

"Have you raped?"

"How many?"

"Who?"

"Are there any other crimes that you have committed as a death eater?"

"Explain."

"Do you know of any death eaters or death eater sympathizers?"

"Who are they?"

"Where are they?"

The depositions took ten hours in all.

Filius Flitwick snapped his fingers and said, "The Slytherins!"

Severus Snape was brought to the Great Hall and arrested for having a dark mark. His crimes were numerous, but, since turning evidence on Voldemort's followers sixteen years before, none of his more recent crimes were enough to qualify him for a stay in Chez Azkaban.

However they were more than sufficient to get him sacked.

"Leave now, _Mister_ Snape." McGonagall ordered, "Your belongings will be sent to Spinner's End."

Snape began to protest, but McGonagall wouldn't have it, "Leave now or I will have you charged with criminal trespass, and that _will_ put you in Azkaban."

The ex-professor turned to his least favorite ex-student, "Potter…"

Harry raised his hand, "We saw you, in the dungeon, putting yourself between the werewolves and your students, that's the only reason the Potter family is not declaring vendetta against you. You should go now, before I'm forced to do something I won't regret."

With one last swirl of his black robes Severus Snape left the building.

Harry bent down to whisper something in Professor Flitwick's ear. The diminutive man nodded and cast a spell.

Rita Skeeter fell from a height of fifteen feet. Luckily, for her, she didn't break any bones, but her left wrist and ankle were both badly sprained.

"Minister," Harry asked, "What is the penalty for not registering your animagus form?"

"A thousand galleons and six months in Azkaban."

Scrimgeour leaned over to Harry and whispered, "I don't think there's a judge she doesn't have some kind of dirt on. She knows where _all_ the skeletons are closeted."

Then he looked back at Rita and added, "Oh, and, of course, the loss of any and all press credentials and accesses."

"Did you get all that, Miz Skeeter?" Harry asked. "These tribunals are public record, you put any kind of spin on them other than the unvarnished truth, and you'll have to find wherever ex-professor Snape is going for career advice."

Skeeter scrambled out of the great hall as fast as her painful limbs would allow.

_End penseive recording_

Luna sighed, over the past few days Harry had been glorified for the final defeat of Tom Riddle, then vilified for the use of an unforgivable, but since the only person he'd used it on had been himself, Riddle having been deemed a 'dark magic construct,' that furor died down quickly.

Now Harry was the "Chosen One" again, and the "Man Who Triumphed!"

Ministry employees who had been Dark Lord sympathizers and enablers were ratted out by the very death eaters they were supporting – chief among them the Senior Undersecretary for the Minister of Magic, Dolores Umbridge.

She was sacked, then arrested for crimes including, but not limited to illegal use of a contract quill, also known as a blood quill, abuse of power and willful endangerment of under aged children, not the least of whom had been Harry Potter himself. When several witnesses, including Millicent Bulstrode, testified that the Minister's right-hand-witch had actually sent dementors after Harry the previous year, she was given the choice, life in Azkaban or the Archway and Veil.

She chose the life sentence.

Six months later she would be found hanging in her own cell.

Draco Malfoy disappeared from Britain altogether. _Someone_ had bound his magic, leaving him less than a squib, and then had him thrown him into Diepkloof Prison near Johannesburg where he was serving time as a serial child-rapist.

He was young and good looking, despite only having one arm and the sex starved inmates, over half of whom were HIV positive, rode him like a freight train.

One inmate got a bit carried away and what was once a proud heir to a pureblood family found his final resting place in an unmarked grave just outside Diepkloof's main gate.

Back in Britain, just in time for Ostara, a large crowd gathered. The Ministry spared no expense re-constructing the stadium that had last been used for the Quidditch World Cup three years before.

It seemed all Magical Britain was there, and those who couldn't be were glued to the Wizarding Wireless Network.

Rumor had it that the ministry was going to declare a national holiday in honor of Harry Potter."

It was well known that Harry and the three Missus Potters were all going to receive Orders of Merlin, along with Potter's Commandos and the two flying squadrons that had been formed on that fateful day.

The Defense Association was now a ministry sponsored military force, the 'Minutemen of Magical Britain.'

All who fought on that cold, February morning would receive special recognition.

The podium and stage set up mid-field was replicated on large screens at the north and south ends of the stadium so that there wasn't a bad seat in the house.

The stadium lights dimmed as the spectators continued to trickle in.

Rufus Scrimgeour stepped up to the podium to begin the honors.

"My fellow wizards, witches and guests, as Minister of Magic it gives me great pleasure to be here today to recognize the contributions and sacrifices of those who stood between us and the Dark Lord Voldemort."

The collective gasp in the stadium was followed by thousands of mages nervously chuckling in embarrassment.

"Before we present the awards, Harry Potter…"

The stadium shook as thirty thousand people stood and cheered and applauded their savior. Thousands of cameras flashed, making the stadium resemble nothing more than a gigantic, blazing jewel in the night.

It took several minutes for the din to die down, and Scrimgeour continued, "Harry Potter has asked to be allowed to say a few words."

Harry stood behind the podium and endured another few minutes of adulation. The whole stadium became quiet as he raised his hands, palms outward.

He looked at the table before him where several velvet boxes held Wizarding Britain's highest honor, the Order of Merlin.

Without a word he stepped over to the table and picked up five boxes.

He delivered one box each to Arthur and Molly Weasley, Steven and Victoria Brown, and to the widows and small children of Aurors Stebbins, Welch and Connor.

Each family member accepted the award and a heartfelt embrace from the young man who had come to symbolize the best of the wizarding world.

The crowd sat in stunned silence, the only sound was that of thousands of pages being turned as the audience tried to find where in the program Harry Potter was supposed to be presenting those awards.

Harry returned to the podium, wiping the tears from his face with both hands.

"Five of my friends died that morning, four young men and one girl who should be sitting up here, or better yet, just running amok, enjoying life."

He looked out over the crowd and said in a voice just above a whisper, "Wow, look at all of you. There must be about thirty _thousand_ of you here tonight - and another twenty thousand or so listening in courtesy of the WWN."

He got even quieter, "I just have one question, and you need to think hard before answering."

The crowd sat on the edges of their seats straining to hear.

"Where were you?"

Uncomfortable shuffling ensued.

"Where were you when Tom Riddle lay whimpering on a piss-stained mattress in a filthy orphanage, afraid to sleep because the older boys would bugger him if he did?

"Where were you when an eleven-year-old Tom Riddle needed the love and guidance of a foster parent, or a mentor, or just a friend?

"Left to his own devices, Tom Riddle decided to change the world to suit him, so he made a name for himself – you wanna see?"

Harry did the _ascribe_ charm to spell out in flaming letters _TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE_, and then anagramized the name to read _I AM LORD VOLDEMORT._

Uneasy murmurings from the stands, a few people got up to leave, clearly uncomfortable with the direction tonight's "festivities" were taking.

"Don't leave, people, the best is yet to come."

Harry gestured to the chairs in front of the podium.

"A group of just over a hundred students and teachers defended Hogwarts from attacks by dementors and giants and death eaters, and _beat_ them.

"And as much as I appreciate the efforts of the brave aurors who arrived _after_ the fighting was over – oh, and the reason for that? They were kept waiting for the Minister of Magic to join them so he could have a _photo op!"_

Everyone returned to their seats, most were glaring at Rufus Scrimgeour.

"Two dozen of us faced Riddle in Hogsmeade, in the middle of the town square, where, apparently, Tom was enjoying the hospitality of the Lord Mayor.

"Of the five hundred residents of Hogsmeade, how many chose to stand up to Riddle and his death eaters?"

Harry made a 'zero' symbol with his thumb and index finger.

"Five hundred wizards and witches, each with wands of their own, were cowed by two dozen men in masks."

More murmurs from the crowd.

"Yes, pathetic isn't it?"

Harry leaned over the podium and looked into the hearts of every man and woman there.

"No more pathetic than fifty thousand of you rolling over and spreading your legs for a handful of terrorists because they were meaner than you!"

"Christ! Don't you people get it? Even as you alternately praised and cursed me, you crawled under your beds and pretended bad things wouldn't happen to you if you just let someone else take charge!"

"Why did _I_ have to be the one to face Riddle?"

From somewhere in the stadium a woman screamed, "Because you were the Chosen One!"

Cheers of consensus followed.

Harry raised his hands again and the crowd quieted.

"I'll let you in on a little secret."

He leaned forward and whispered, "_I didn't kill Tom Riddle."_

Shocked, stunned silence.

Harry turned and took Luna's hand, then had her join him at the podium.

"May I present Luna Selene Lovegood Potter, the true hero of the hour."

Pandemonium ensued.

Luna sat down and Harry faced the crowd again.

As he began to speak the stadium fell silent again.

"So we have fifty-thousand people who are perfectly willing to let a sixteen year old girl save their arses for them as long as they can live safe, comfortable lives.

"Let me explain something.

"Freedom isn't free, never has been, never will be.

"My friends, my brothers and sisters in arms _died_ for you, and now you have a choice; it's a simple choice, really. You can honor their sacrifice by doing what _they_ did, serve your community, serve each other. Volunteer.

"Not everyone can be in the defense force, not everyone needs to be, but you _can_ support those who go out every day to protect and serve you, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, the Defense Force, formerly known as the Defense Association.

"And the schoolyard bully who decides to become the next dark lord or lady will not have such an easy time of it."

Thunderous applause and cheering.

Cries of "Potter for Minister of Magic!"

Scrimgeour, red faced, seethed in his chair.

"One last thing, and then I'll go."

Silence.

"There will, no doubt, be something of a, ah, _restructuring_ of the Ministry of Magic. Due in no small part to the fact that every department, including the DMLE had either a death eater or a sympathizer highly placed in the organization.

"Nine seats opened as a result of Riddle sympathizers in the Wizengamot – every one an old pureblood family."

Harry shook his head, "And therein we find the true problem – old pureblood families.

"I don't mean that anyone should forsake their heritage. If you're from an old and respected family, that's good. Then again, neither should anyone be ashamed of where they came from. If you're a first generation witch or wizard, be proud of what you've been able to accomplish, learn to appreciate what a gift it is to be magical.

"What matters, or rather, what _should_ matter is competence, combined with a sense of civic responsibility."

He turned to his brunette wife and said, "Hermione Jane Granger Potter is muggleborn, a first generation magic user, and the brightest witch of her, or any age. However, because of her 'blood status,' the best career she can look forward to in Wizarding Britain is a middle management position in some obscure ministry department. Or, God forbid, she could be relegated to the role of housewife and mother. That, my friends, would be a criminal waste of her enormous potential."

"Sweetheart," he said, "we will raise our children, but someday, if there's any justice in this world, I will simply be known as Hermione Potter's husband."

He turned next to Padma and said, "Padmini Patil Potter can trace her magical blood line back, unbroken, for fifty centuries, and yet, in Wizarding Britain, where blood is supposed to be the _most_ important thing she is considered a second class witch because of the hue of her beautiful skin."

He looked out over the crowd, "So what do we have? The overwhelming majority of wizard-centric Britain is complacent, willing to be led by a few blood-purist bigots, and frankly, I don't see any real change on the horizon.

"Therefore, I am going to follow yet another little known but much practiced tradition – I am going to follow my half-blood and first generation magical cousins and get the fuck out of Britain."

He turned to leave and was joined by Luna, Hermione and Padma. As he made his way off the podium Scrimgeour said, "Wait! What about your award, your Order of Merlin?"

Harry stopped long enough to say, "Imagine it's a solid gold suppository."

"Potter, we had a deal!" Scrimgeour hissed.

Harry stopped again and turned, "Yes, we did. I said that _as long as I was in Britain_ you would have my public support." Harry turned and this time didn't stop, neither did he look back.

If he had he would have seen every member of Potter's Commandos, and the whole of the Defense Association, now the Defense Force, also leaving the field.

Luna snuggled into Harry's side and asked, "So, where to?"

He laughed and kissed the top of her head, it's February, in Scotland, were do you _think_ I'd like to go?

"Oh, right, the Caribbean it is."

)O(

Three weeks later on the _Ile de la Lune_

Hermione chided her sister, "Padma, you don't have to stay in that little tent all day!" Then she snuggled back into Harry's embrace on the beach chair, both were well-oiled, tanned, rested and quite naked.

"That's easy for you to say, _your_ skin doesn't go black as sin when it tans."

"Honestly, sis, are you or are you not a witch?" Besides, half the fun is getting oiled up by our green-eyed sex god!"

"Oh…" Padma came out of the screened-in holiday tent and unrolled a beach mat next to her spouses.

"Harry?"

The wizard groaned and got out of his comfortable lounger, then dropped to his knees next to Padma to begin covering her with oil, he was thorough and meticulous, and didn't leave one square millimeter of skin unoiled. Then, just to be sure he re-applied oil to those parts that might need a bit more.

Padma was on the brink, seconds away from ravaging Harry, when Luna came running out of the house carrying a shopping bag, followed closely by Myrtle, "We got a floo call from the Longbottoms, and guess what?"

Harry, Hermione and Padma all said, under their breaths, "Pansy's pregnant."

"Pansy's in the club!"

Hermione, "Honestly, that's news? Mambo Lune cast the fertility charm herself and then those two didn't come out of their bungalow for a solid week."

Harry smirked, "I'm just glad they remembered the silencing charm after the first night, who knew Neville and Pansy would be so vocal?"

"Or foul-mouthed?" Myrtle added.

"Oh, and Minister Shacklebolt has declared a state of emergency."

"Now what?"

"Seems nearly every muggle-born witch and wizard in Britain has left the country, most have gone to Canada, some to Bermuda and quite a few to New Zealand."

Myrtle added, "Pansy said the magical population of New Zealand has doubled in just two weeks."

"Oh, I almost forgot! Neville sent us this."

Luna reached into the bag and pulled out a large jar filled with what looked like tightly packed seaweed.

Harry's eyes lit up, "Is that?"

"Yep, gillyweed – enough to carry us through the whole summer even if we use it every day!"

Padma, Hermione and Harry smiled and, along with Luna, each took a handful of the rubbery plant, before running into the clear Caribbean waters heading for the reef. Myrtle giggled and followed.

She loved to watch.

)O(

I'll leave the rest of this chapter to your fevered imaginations…

…or perhaps I'll write an epilogue, wherein the Caribbean's Steamin'.

Thus endeth the tale.

Whew!

By a show of hands, how many of you remember this story began life as a simple one-shot, a way of looking at Luna's personality differently.

That's what I thought, almost no one.

After the twenty first message insisting "You _have_ to write more on this!" I capitulated and began the multi-chapter version that I've ended here.

So could you say this is a thirteen chapter one-shot?

About halfway through the story I got the feeling that I was falling deeper and deeper into clicheland, not that that's bad, some cliches are good. For example, I love a well done do-over story – see the works of DrT and Clell and S'Tarkan and Kinsfire for some wonderful examples. But I wanted to do something different.

That's when I got the a) brilliant or b) terrible or c) both a and b idea to roll the ruthless dice.

That wasn't my biggest mistake, no, gentle readers, my biggest mistake was in letting my readers know I was going to let two characters die based on a roll of the dice.

Holy _Shite_ Batman!

You could make a book out of the reviews, some very negative, some positive but most supportive as in "hey mate, I might not like where you're goin' with this one, but it's your story in the end."

The numbers came up five and six, Ron and Lavender.

If the numbers had come up one and two, Harry and Luna, would I still have allowed them to die?

Yes.

I would have hated it, but I was ready to do _whatever_ based on a single roll of the dice.

As it happens, Harry gets his happy ending, yay!

All three wives are still among the living, and enjoying every minute of it as only those who have laid their lives on the line will truly understand.

Right about now I imagine a pod of dolphins are watching our quartet and thinking, "Kewl, we gotta try that!"

As much as I love and respect Jo KR, all hail the beautiful creator, I have to say I didn't care for the canon works after OotP. My biggest peeve?

Nearly two decades after the fall of Voldemort, you look around Wizarding Britain and _nothing_ _has changed!_

Blood prejudices are still an issue, and a MARKED death eater is on platform 9 ¾ seeing his own sprog off.

You can almost hear the "Approach of the Shark" music in the background as the next generation's Dark Lord is nurtured.

I'm all for forgiveness, but that little shite Draco better have thrown himself on a grenade to earn it.

All I can say is thank God and the Goddess for fanfiction – where some really good writers get it right!

With patience and encouragement I hope to join their ranks someday.

Brightest Blessings and Merry Partings,

Norman


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